Gulfshore Playhouse

Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend

Whether you're old or young, a devotee or not, January 12th was an absolute treat. The inimitable Carol Channing was in great form!! After a private patron dinner at the Club at Mediterra, Carol and the group arrived at the Gulfshore Homes Custom Home to find the house overflowing with attendees waiting for the fun to begin. With delicious food catered by Naples Tomato, everyone was in a celebratory mood as Carol mounted the stairway, nodded to the sound man and broke into a rousing rendition of "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend".

Carol, who is passionate about live theatre, came to support Gulfshore Playhouse in its goals of building a Professional Regional Theatre in Southwest Florida. The night was full of surprises including the unveiling of the first set of architectural plans with an explanation by architect Paul Westlake, a special presentation of a diamond necklace to Carol from the charitable foundation the Kazanjian foundation, as well as a special "soft shoe" performed by Carol and her husband, Harry Kullijian.

Playhouse Patrons abounded including Bob and Diane Levy, who became the first major donors, pledging $25,000, Chairman Bob Harden and wife Linda Harden, who baptised the "Chairman's Circle" by pledging $50,000 and Christine Paddock who joined the "Circle" as well with a $50,000 pledge. Joe Cox, board member of the College of Life Foundation attended as well. College of Life Foundation has pledged $250,000 to the Playhouse once they have sold the land on 41 and Corkscrew to JED of Southwest Florida who will be donating the land upon which the Playhouse will sit.

The piece de resitance came when Carol sang "Hello, Dolly." She was 100% consummate star and the crowd ate out of the palm of her hand. When she said, "Now I was Dolly for a long time, so I can't sing this part" the room broke into a chorus of "Hello, Dolly" in perfect pitch. Carol was delighted and used all that energy as she finished the number to enthusiastic applause.

ACI Aeronautical Charters - Todd Carroll
for flying Carol Channing and her husband, Harry Kullijian, to and from Naples

Mr. Steve Watt
Gulfshore Homes donation of the Montserrat home for Carol Channing Soiree

Linda and Bob Harden
for providing a beautiful one-bedroom apartment in which Harry and Carol stayed

Dawn DiNardo
for taking fantastic photographs of the event

Naples Tomato
who gave us an incredible layout of food and one for an incredibly discounted price

Marino Parking Services
for providing deeply discounted high quality valet parking

Reception to follow with Carol where Carol will tell Hollywood and Broadway stories of old and even sing “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend”. There will be a wine and cheese reception with jewelry sale by the Kanzanjian Foundation, selling “jewelry of the stars” (www.jewelsforcharity.org) such as Madonna’s Tiara, the necklace worn by Joan Collins in Dynasty and the earrings worn by Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra. Please call Kristen Coury at 239-398-3143 for more information.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Legendary Carol Channing Comes to Naples
to support Gulfshore Playhouse!!

NAPLES, FLORIDA (September, 2005) - Gulfshore Playhouse announces an exciting fundraising event planned for January 12th, 2006! The Legendary Star of Stage and Screen, Carol Channing, will be present to host an exclusive dinner and jewelry sale reception entitled "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend".

Mr. Steve Watt, owner of Gulfshore Homes, has agreed to partner with us in this affair and has generously donated the use of his exclusive custom home, the Montserrat, in Mediterra for the evening. At 5pm, the first 8 people to respond will have the exclusive privilege of having a gourmet dinner with Carol and her husband, Harry Kullijian, at the dining room table of this beautiful estate home.

Carol Channing, a recipient of the 1995 Lifetime Achievement Tony Award, has been a star of international acclaim since a Time magazine cover story hailed her performance as Lorelei Lee in Gentleman Prefer Blondes writing; "Perhaps once in a decade a nova explodes above the Great White Way with enough brilliance to re-llumine the whole gaudy legend of show business." Her Broadway appearances include "So Proudly We Hail", "Let's Face It" , "Lend An Ear" (Theatre World Award), "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", "Show Girl", "Pygmalion", "The Millionairess", "The Vamp", "Four On A Garden", and "Wonderful Town". Making theatrical history, she won the Tony Award in 1964 for her legendary portrayal of Dolly Levi in Jerry Herman's "Hello, Dolly!". Jacqueline Kennedy and her two children made their first public appearance after JFK's death by seeing her perform in "Hello, Dolly!" and later visited her backstage. She has since played the role in over 5,000 performances, including a smash London engagement at the great Drury Lane Theatre without missing a single performance. She then toured with her own revue, "Carol Channing and Her Ten Stout-Hearted Men" and critically acclaimed tours of "Jerry's Girls" and "Legends", in which she co-starred with Mary Martin. Carol has been the star of numerous films, TV shows and animated features as well.

Kristen Coury, Producing Artistic Director of Gulfshore Playhouse, states, "We are absolutely delighted that Carol is willing to come host our event. She believes fervently in the need to encourage the love of live theatre in the next generation and stands behind our goal of building a Regional Theatre in Southwest Florida."

At 7pm, Carol will sing "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" to kick off an hors d'oeuvres, dessert and cocktail reception, including an exciting jewelry sale, hosted by the Kazanjian Foundation. Harry and James Kazanjian emigrated from Armenia in 1912 to the United States and made the American dream a reality. They were so deeply affected by our nation's liberties and impressed by the strengths of its leaders, that they carved four of the world's largest Sapphires into busts of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Dwight D. Eisenhower. …more

The Kazanjian Foundation is a charitable organization established to support scientific, artistic, cultural and other worthy causes. The Kazanjian Foundation specializes in gathering donations of jewelry and fine collectibles for charitable purposes. The Foundation then markets and sells the donated jewelry, passing 100% of the proceeds to other charities and charitable causes. Pieces currently in their collection that could be for sale on January 12thare Bing Crosby's 14K Gold cufflinks, Gregory Peck's Diamond Ring, and Madonna's Wedding Tiara. 30% of the proceeds will be donated to Gulfshore Playhouse.

Gulfshore Playhouse recently made an announcement that Land Development Group, LLC, an affiliate of The D'Jamoos Group, Ltd., is committing the donation of enough land for Gulfshore Playhouse to build their new state-of-the-art Professional Regional Theatre. This space will be located in a new development project named "Estero on the River," which is situated on the Northeast corner of U.S. 41 and Corkscrew Road. The commitment is contingent upon the successful rezoning of the land that is currently under contract for this project. Kristen Coury adds, "We hope to have our Professional Regional Theatre built and be presenting a full season of new works, classics, musicals and dramas, as well as after-school programs and family fare, by Fall, 2008."