FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Livermore Valley Arts
Contact: Ruth Egherman (925) 583-2306
Emmy & Tony Award Winner Jason Alexander to Headline Annual
Brilliance at the Bankhead Gala September 9, 2023
Livermore, CA – (March 30, 2023) –
Livermore Valley Arts is celebrating the start of the 2023-2024 season with Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor, singer, comedian, host, and director Jason Alexander headlining its annual Brilliance at the Bankhead fundraising gala on Saturday, September 9, 2023. Best known for his nine-year stint as George Costanza in the television series Seinfeld, Alexander is also an acclaimed stage actor who will bring comedy and a whimsical salute to Broadway musicals to the Tri-Valley. He will be accompanied by the Livermore-Amador Symphony at what is the largest fundraising event of the year for Livermore Valley Arts. Proceeds support activities at both the Bankhead Theater and the Bothwell Arts Center, as well as the independent non-profit organization’s broad educational and cultural arts outreach activities.
Though best known for his award-winning run as the now iconic George Costanza of television’s Seinfeld, Jason Alexander has achieved international recognition for a career noted for its extraordinary diversity. For his work on Seinfeld, Jason garnered an impressive six Emmy nominations, four Golden Globe nominations, an American Television Award, and two American Comedy Awards. He also won the first ever Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series in 1994 (despite playing a supporting role), and in 2012 he was honored to receive the “Julie Harris Award for Lifetime Achievement” from the Actors Fund. Aside from his performances on stage, screen, and television, he has worked extensively as a writer, composer, director, producer, and teacher of acting. In between all this, he has also become an award-winning magician, a notorious poker player, and a respected advocate on social and political issues.
Aside from Seinfeld, Jason has starred and guested in shows such as The Grinder, Drunk History, Friends, Two and a Half Men, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Criminal Minds, Monk, Franklin and Bash, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bob Patterson, Listen Up, Hit the Road, Orville, Young Sheldon, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. He also starred in the television films of Bye Bye Birdie, Cinderella, A Christmas Carol, and The Man Who Saved Xmas. Additionally, his voice has been heard most notably in Duckman, The Cleveland Show, American Dad, Tom and Jerry, and Kody Kapow. He can also be heard in the upcoming animated series Harley Quinn.
His many films include: Pretty Woman, Jacob’s Ladder, Love! Valor! Compassion!, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Dunston Checks In, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Shallow Hal. In addition, he directed the feature films For Better or Worse and Just Looking. He is also a distinguished television director, having overseen episodes of Seinfeld, Til Death, Everybody Hates Chris, Mike and Molly, Criminal Minds, and Franklin and Bash. He won the American Country Music Award for his direction of Brad Paisley’s video “Cooler Online.”
While still in college, his desire to work as a stage actor in New York came to be with his debut in the original Broadway cast of the Hal Prince/Stephen Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along. He continued starring on Broadway in the original casts of Kander and Ebb’s The Rink, Neil Simon’s Broadway Bound, Rupert Holmes’ Accomplice, and his Tony Award-winning performance in Jerome Robbins’ Broadway. Jason also authored the libretto for that show, which went on to win the Tony Award for Best Musical. After moving to LA, Jason continued working in the theatre, notably serving as the artistic director for Reprise Theatre Company, and for the hit West Coast production of Mel Brooks’ The Producers, in which he starred along with Martin Short. Jason returned to Broadway to star in the Larry David comedy Fish in the Dark at the Cort Theatre and in John Patrick Shanley’s The Portuguese Kid at Manhattan Theatre Club.
He has also helmed a number of stage productions including: The God of Hell at the Geffen Playhouse; Broadway Bound at the Odyssey; an updated revival of Damn Yankees and The Fantasticks, as well as Sunday in the Park with George, for Reprise, the world premiere of Windfall by Scooter Pietsch for Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Native Gardens at Pasadena Playhouse, The Joy Wheel at Ruskin Group Theatre, and direction for the musical The Last Five Years at Syracuse Stage.
Mr. Alexander tours the country and the world performing his one-man show, “As Long As You’re Asking, a Conversation with Jason Alexander,” which contains music, comedy, and conversation. He can also be seen in his whimsical salute to Broadway musicals with some of the finest symphony orchestras throughout the United States, which will excitingly find its way to The Bankhead this fall.
This upcoming season marks Livermore Valley Arts’ 17th season of programming, and the organization is thrilled to kick off the 2023-2024 celebration and the season with this iconic entertainer of theatre, television, and film. Brilliance at the Bankhead includes gourmet dinner provided by On The Vine, coffee provided by Story Coffee, as well as exciting raffle prizes and live and silent auction items. Multiple sponsorships make the event Livermore Valley Arts’ biggest fundraising event of the year. Six months in advance of the event, initial sponsors for the 2023 Season Gala already include UNCLE Credit Union, Jean King, Lynn and Joan Seppala, Denise Watkins, Jean Shuler, Sensiba San Filippo LLP, UNCLE Credit Union, Lance Cavalieri Jewlers, and Visit Tri-Valley. At this early date, Livermore Valley Arts is still welcoming sponsorships for this playful and glamorous night of entertainment from corporations, media, and individuals. To sponsor this evening, please send a note to the Development Department at development@lvpac.org.
Livermore Valley Arts offers wide-ranging programs that provide access to the arts for the Tri-Valley community and beyond. Located in the heart of Downtown Livermore, the Bankhead Theater welcomes artists from diverse musical genres, as well as theater, dance, comedy, and other entertainment to suit all ages. The Bothwell Arts Center at 2466 Eighth Street is an arts incubator, offering affordable studio, classroom, rehearsal, performance, and event space. Art exhibits curated by the Bothwell are on display year-round in the UNCLE Credit Union Art Gallery at The Bankhead. Together The Bankhead and Bothwell are home to eight resident performing arts companies and over 40 studio artists and cultural arts instructors. For more information visit LivermoreArts.org.
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