Broadway Great to Perform For Memorial Hall Campaign

Now, with decades of Broadway success under his belt, Adler has found a way to give back to the University he still loves.

He will present "An Evening With Richard Adler" at 8 p.m. Saturday in the Morehead Building banquet hall. The show is a fund-raiser for the Memorial Hall Transformation Campaign.

Adler, 81, said he will perform popular songs from his musicals and talk about the composing processes through storytelling, audio and video.

He is famous for co-writing the 1954 Broadway musical "Pajama Game" with the late Jerry Ross. Well-known songs Adler wrote include "Rags to Riches," "Hey There" and "Whatever Lola Wants."

During the 1960s, Adler was an arts consultant to the White House -- he arranged Marilyn Monroe's iconic performance of "Happy Birthday" for President Kennedy in 1962.

This year, Adler received the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers' Richard Rodgers Award for lifetime achievement.

Though his work on Broadway has led him far and wide, Adler said returning to his alma mater is always exciting. "I love coming back to Chapel Hill, and I come as often as I can," he said.

His interest in attending UNC was first sparked when he read Thomas Wolfe's "Look Homeward, Angel" as a teenager.

Adler said that as a student, he participated in theater and wrote a column for The Daily Tar Heel. He also wrote a letter to then-U.S. poet laureate Robert Frost and single-handedly recruited him to visit the University to recite his poems.

Today, Adler still is trying to make the University a better place. Adler, who is the honorary co-chairman of the transformation campaign, said he was eager to help raise money.

"I'm doing this to hopefully raise some decent dough for the Memorial reconstruction process," he said.

The lasting effects of Adler's work and his enthusiasm to aid the fund-raising campaign will make this show an important and memorable one, said George Ann Bissett, director of development at the planetarium.

"He spoke to the hearts of Americans in the '50s and early '60s," Bissett said. "We're just thrilled that he offered to do this and that it's a part of the Memorial Hall campaign."

Jim Heavner, co-chairman of the campaign, said it will be an honor to see such an accomplished artist perform.

"It has been a great honor to be associated with Richard Adler in this campaign," Heavner said. "I look forward to the evening ... as a very special, once-in-a-lifetime event.

"When we think of Memorial Hall, we think of the great entertainers who have gotten their start there as one of us," Heavner said.

Tickets to the benefit are $125 -- part of the cost will be tax-deductible. Discounted tickets for UNC faculty, staff and spouses are $75. Cocktails will be served at 7:30 p.m., and heavy hors d'oeuvres will follow the performance. For reservations, contact Bissett at 843-5112.

The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.