{"id":12780,"date":"2014-04-15T12:02:47","date_gmt":"2014-04-15T16:02:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/news\/article.php?ArticleID=12780"},"modified":"2014-04-15T12:02:47","modified_gmt":"2014-04-15T16:02:47","slug":"12780_tony-award-winner-headlines-benefit-for-autism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/2014\/04\/15\/12780_tony-award-winner-headlines-benefit-for-autism\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony Award Winner Headlines Benefit for Autism"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tony award winner Laura Benanti will headline Montclair State University\u2019s third annual concert to benefit Autism New Jersey, set to take place in Memorial Auditorium on Thursday, May 1. The event will also star comic Sunda Croonquist, 11-year-old musical prodigy Jodi DiPiazza, stage performer Gia McGlone, and students from Montclair State\u2019s Musical Theater program. <\/p>\n

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Hosting the show will be students from both of the Montclair State and Fairleigh Dickinson Public Relations Student Society of America chapters.<\/p>\n

The money raised from the evening will help Autism New Jersey provide education and support for teachers and other professionals responsible for educating and caring for children and adults with autism.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Benanti, who was most recently seen as Baroness Schraeder in the NBC live production of \u201cThe Sound of Music,\u201d received a Tony Award for her portrayal of Gypsy Rose Lee in the 2008 revival of \u201cGypsy.\u201d She achieved fame by replacing Rebecca Luker in the role of Maria in the 1998 Broadway revival of \u201cThe Sound of Music.\u201d Benanti has also starred in \u201cSwing!,\u201d the 2002 revival of \u201cInto the Woods,\u201d \u201cNine,\u201d \u201cThe Wedding Singer,\u201d and \u201cWomen on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Croonquist has headlined both previous Montclair State Autism New Jersey benefit events.<\/div>\n
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She can be seen every Wednesday night on JLTV\u2019s \u201cJames and Sunda.\u201d She also hosts \u201cMother-tainment\u201d on Radio Titans.com. Additional credits include: \u201cLaw and Order,\u201d \u201cThe Today Show\u201d, \u201cThe Doctors\u201d and Oprah\u2019s OWN. She hosts Hollywood\u2019s \u201cAll Star Comedy\u201d at the World Famous Laugh Factory every Saturday night.<\/div>\n
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McGlone, originally from New Jersey, is a graduate of Montclair State University, with a B.F.A. in Acting. She has worked in Off- Broadway, regional productions, as well as international tours around the United States ,U.K., and Switzerland. As an aspiring recording and performance artist, she has been featured with VH1 events, summer stage and creative outlet of Dance Theatre Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

Jodi DiPiazza is a fifth grader at Midland School in Rochelle Park. She sang with actress Moira Kelly at last year\u2019s Autism NJ fundraiser. Prior to that, DiPiazza performed with Katy Perry during the Comedy Central\u2019s \u201cNight of Too Many Stars\u201d in 2012. She and Benanti will perform a duet during the May 1 program.<\/p>\n

Autism New Jersey is the largest statewide network of parents and professionals dedicated to improving the lives of people with autism and their families. The nonprofit organization is committed to ensuring safe and fulfilling lives for individuals with autism, their families, and the professionals who support them. Through awareness, credible information, education, and public policy initiatives, Autism New Jersey leads the way to lifelong individualized services provided with skill and compassion. <\/p>\n

The Centers for Disease Control released a report showing 1 in 68 children nationally has an Autism Spectrum Disorder. This newest estimate is based on the CDC’s evaluation of health and educational records of all 8-year-old children in 2010 in 11 states, including New Jersey. New Jersey has the highest rates, with 1 in 45, 1 in 28 boys. The national rate marks an increase of 30% from the previous 1 in 88 statistic.<\/p>\n

The show will run from 7:30 \u2013 9:30 p.m. Tickets for the event can be purchased on eventbrite<\/a> for $15. Montclair students, both current and alumni, can purchase tickets in advance through the Communication Office in Life Hall for $10, or purchase them at the door, with a student ID. <\/p>\n

The event is planned and promoted by the Montclair State University Public Relations Student Society of America, which won the 2006 United States Postal Service Executive Public Relations Challenge competition, performed public relations for 2006 and 2007 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year, Lorena Ochoa, the fifth annual Andy Kaufman Award in 2010, the Curtain Call Award, and Hackensack University Medical Cancer Center. The Fairleigh Dickinson University PRSSA was chartered in 2012. It cohosted the first Autism New Jersey benefit event in 2012. The Fairleigh Dickinson PRSSA chapter was created in 2012. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most recently starring as Baroness Schraeder in the NBC live production of \u201cThe Sound of Music,\u201d Laura Benanti comes to Montclair State.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":112780,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-of-communication-and-media-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}