{"id":15912,"date":"2016-02-13T19:05:37","date_gmt":"2016-02-14T00:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/news\/article.php?ArticleID=15912"},"modified":"2016-02-13T19:05:37","modified_gmt":"2016-02-14T00:05:37","slug":"15912_tony-award-nominee-stephanie-j-block-returns-to-montclair-state-university-to-headline-benefit-for-autism-new-jersey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/2016\/02\/13\/15912_tony-award-nominee-stephanie-j-block-returns-to-montclair-state-university-to-headline-benefit-for-autism-new-jersey\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony Award Nominee Stephanie J. Block Returns to Montclair State University to Headline Benefit for Autism New Jersey"},"content":{"rendered":"

MONTCLAIR, NJ\u2014 Tony award nominee, Stephanie J. Block, will be returning to Montclair State University to headline its fifth annual concert to benefit Autism New Jersey, which is set for Monday, April 11.  <\/span>The event will again be held in the university\u2019s Memorial Auditorium and run from 7:30-9:30 pm.  <\/span>Don Ciccone, who sang the hit 60\u2019s classic, \u201cMr. Dyingly Sad\u201d and later joined The Four Seasons to sing \u201cDecember, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)\u201d is also headlining, along with comedian Sunda Croonquist.  <\/span>Proceeds from the event will go directly to Autism New Jersey.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Seventh grade musical prodigy Jodi DiPiazza, and students from Montclair State\u2019s Musical Theater program fill out the program.  <\/span>Hosting the show will be students from the Montclair State Public Relations Student Society of America chapter.  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Block received the 2013 Tony Award and Drama Desk nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance as Alice Nutting\/Edwin Drood in the Roundabout Theatre\u2019s production of \u201cThe Mystery of Edwin Drood.\u201d  <\/span>Other credits include the role of Reno Sweeney in the 2011 revival of \u201cAnything Goes,\u201d and \u201c9 to 5: The Musical,\u201d which earned Block a Drama Desk nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.   <\/span>She created the roles of Grace O\u2019Malley in \u201cThe Pirate Queen\u201d and Liza Minelli in \u201cThe Boy From Oz\u201d (opposite Hugh Jackman).    <\/span>Block is probably best known for her portrayal of Elphaba in the Broadway company of \u201cWicked.\u201d  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ciccone became the proverbial rock star when he wrote and sang lead for the mid-sixties rock group, The Critters, recording what WCBS-FM radio described as one of the top 100 love songs of the 1960s \u2013 \u201cMr. Dyingly Sad.\u201d  <\/span>In addition, the group had a hit with \u201cYounger Girl.\u201d  <\/span>Later, Ciccone joined the Four Seasons and also sang lead vocals on \u201cWho Loves You.\u201d  <\/span>After his stint with the Four Seasons, he joined Tommy James and the Shondells.<\/span> <\/span><\/em>        <\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n

Croonquist has headlined the previous Montclair State <\/em>Autism New Jersey benefit events.  <\/span>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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jodi DiPiazza is a seventh grader at Midland School in Rochelle Park.  <\/span>This year marks the fourth year she has participated in the PRSSA event.  <\/span>She sang with actress Moira Kelly in the 2013 Autism NJ fundraiser, 2014 with Laura Benanti, and performed with Stephanie J. Block at last year\u2019s benefit. DiPiazza performed with Katy Perry during the Comedy Central\u2019s \u201cNight of Too Many Stars\u201d in 2012, and she most recently performed with Weird Al Yankovic on Comedy Central.<\/span><\/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.   <\/span>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. <\/span><\/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.<\/span> <\/span> <\/p>\n

The show will run from 7:30 \u2013 9:30 p.m. Tickets for the event can be purchased at https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/new-jersey-stars-performers-for-a-purpose-tickets-21460573152<\/a> for $15.  <\/span>Montclair students, both current and alumni, can purchase tickets in advance through the School’s Office in Morehead Hall for $10, or purchase them at the door, with a student ID.  <\/span><\/span><\/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.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MONTCLAIR, NJ\u2014 Tony award nominee, Stephanie J. Block, will be returning to Montclair State University to headline its fifth annual concert to benefit Autism New Jersey, which is set for Monday, April 11.  The event will again be held in the university\u2019s Memorial Auditorium and run from 7:30-9:30 pm.  Don Ciccone, who sang the hit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":115912,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15912","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\/15912","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\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15912\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}