Show will benefit scholarship fund
While the title is "Butler to Broadway," the show actually brings a bit of Broadway back to Butler as Michele Pawk returns to town for a scholarship fund benefit.
The Don Orwald Arts Initiative will present the Tony Award-winning actress and Butler County native in "Butler to Broadway" at 8 p.m. June 19 in the Succop Theater at Butler County Community College.
"Butler to Broadway" will feature interviews with Pawk conducted by radio personality Dave Malarkey in addition to a guest appearance by Pittsburgh personality Jon Burnett.
Pawk will also perform a variety of musical selections and will be joined by Whitney Ann Jenkins, fellow veteran of Butler's Musical Theatre Guild and the Butler Little Theatre, for certain numbers during the performance.
Members of BLT will assist in a brief scene from "Hollywood Arms" — the play in which Pawk gave her Tony-winning performance — and MTG will provide backup for several of the musical numbers.
Proceeds will benefit the Mary Jo Mohn Scholarship fund for BC3 students pursuing careers in the performing arts.
"Mary Jo was very active with the Butler Little Theatre and MTG working mostly props and had the knack for coming up with even the most hard to find item," said Don Orwald.
"She also worked with me for years at Knoch working with our kids on the stage crews and showing them how to conduct themselves back stage and giving them pride in their contribution to a performance."
When Mohn died about 10 years ago, Orwald was the person who "directed" her funeral.
"She said I was her favorite stage director and she wanted me to take charge directing of her funeral, and I am glad I did," Orwald said.
Pawk was eager to return to her roots and connect with old friends to raise money for this cause.
"Mary Jo was actively involved in the Butler theater scene, and actually I remember her from the early '80s when I performed with the Theatre Guild," Pawk said. "She was a beloved member of this community, and I believe that a scholarship in the theatre arts is a perfect way to honor her and her contributions."
Members of the theater community are pulling together for the cause with actors from MTG and BLT volunteering their time.
"I'm excited about the opportunity to work with some amazing Butler talent," said Pawk, adding that it should be a fun evening.
The Knoch High School graduate recently starred in the play "The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead" at the City Theatre on Pittsburgh's South Side.
"The play was a one-woman piece where I had the opportunity to play seven different characters," Pawk said.
"It was a tremendous amount of work, a lot of fun, but the best part about the whole experience was being near my family and having the opportunity to see more of my siblings and nieces and nephews. What a treat for me," she added.
She also said that the support from the community was humbling.
"There was hardly a performance when afterward I didn't reconnect with an old friend or teacher," she said.
This July, Pawk will teach at a musical theatre camp and in the fall will start her first official semester as a professor in the theatre department at Wagner College in Staten Island.
<B>WHAT: </B>"Butler To Broadway" featuring Michele Pawk, a production of The Don Orwald Arts Initiative<B>WHEN: </B>8 p.m. June 19<B>WHERE: </B>Succop Theater at Butler County Community College<B>TICKETS: </B>$30, reserved seats only. Call 724-284-8505 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
