Tony Nominee Orfeh to Co-Host 2013 COLUMN Awards in Dallas, 2/25

The Board of Directors and Executive Director/Producer/Founder of THE COLUMN Awards Organization, John Garcia, have announced today that Tony Award nominee, Broadway sensation Orfeh will be their special guest star and Co-host for the 14th Annual COLUMN Awards Gala. The extravaganza event will be held on Monday February 25, 2013 at the Carpenter Theatre at the Irving Arts Center.

Tickets go on sale Monday February 4th. For ticket info and all other info, go to the official website at www.thecolumnawards.org.

Not only will she be their special guest star and co-hosting (with Garcia), Orfeh will add another layer of excitement as she will also be performing at the gala.

From New York Orfeh stated, "I am so honored to be following in the footsteps of the legendary Chita Rivera. I'm pretty sure the only reason she's not hosting again this year is that she's canoodling with my husband (albeit on stage) right now. And that's one huge thing we have in common!"

THE COLUMN Awards honors excellence in theater within the entire Dallas-Fort Worth Theatre metroplex, both in Equity and Non-Equity.

THE COLUMN Awards holds the great distinction as being the only theater awards organization in the United States that also serves as a major fundraiser for BROADWAY CARES/EQUITY FIGHTS AIDS. Over their 14 year history they have raised over $85,000.00 for BC/EFA.

Orfeh's Broadway credits include FOOTLOOSE & THE GERSHWINS' FASCINATING RHYTHM. She received critical acclaim for her portrayal of "Annette" in SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (where she met her future husband, fellow Broadway star Andy Karl). Orfeh would go on to originate the role of "Paulette" in LEGALLY BLONDE: THE MUSICAL, receiving a coveted Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She again achieved critical praise for her performance as "Pippi" the stripper in the original Off-Broadway production, THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL.

TV audiences have seen her on such shows as The Chapelle Show, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and her infamous episode on SEX & THE CITY, where she portrayed "Anna", the sassy Staten Island girl who tried to cause a bar fight with Samantha and the other girls.

On the silver screen she has been seen in such films as Julie Taymor's ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, KISS ME AGAIN, TEMPTATION, and PURSUIT OF BEAUTY. She soon will be seen in the upcoming motion picture SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES starring as "Mrs. Wasserstein". Her co-stars include Ana Ortiz, Steven Strait, Gina Rodriguez, and Priscilla Lopez.

"The Board of Directors and I are bursting with frenzy excitement on having Orfeh as our special guest star", Stated Garcia. "I became a faithful fan the second I saw her on Broadway in SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER. When I met her after the show, her physical beauty took my breath away. She had already slayed me with her out of these world vocal pipes on stage, but to see her face to face. Well I was under her spell." Garcia went on to say, "Several years later I would again meet her (and her husband Andy Karl) the very week after they opened LEGALLY BLONDE on Broadway. I had friend in the show, so afterwards we all had a quick visit. Her comedic talents had that audience howling in laughter so much that she stole the show. It's no surprise she would receive a Tony Award nomination for her performance as 'Paulette'".

"I would have luck on my side one more time as I got to see her in the original cast of the hilarious musical THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL. Orfeh portrayed the stripper "Pippi". My main reason to go was due to Orfeh being in the show. She again had me (and the entire audience) holding our sides from laughing so hard, but then to hear her belt to the heavens with the ballad in the second act with the now ever popular lyric, "I'm gonna make like a nail and press on" -she continued her streak of stealing the show!"

"Because of the MTV telecast of LEGALLY BLONDE, the original cast recordings of her musicals, as well as her own music recording career, she has so many fans-especially here in Dallas/Fort Worth. It is surreal that she will be here at our gala! We talked on the phone this morning where she had me constantly laughing, so I can already tell that the audience at this year's gala are in for a gut busting, side splitting evening because of her," concluded Garcia.

First things first: the name. Yes, it's real. And it came from Orfeu Negro, the 1959 film shot by French director Marcel Camus in Brazil (better known by its American name: Black Orpheus). Resetting the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in modern-day Rio de Janeiro during the Carnival celebration, the bossa nova-flavored movie was an international sensation, winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival as well as the Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film. And it gave one-of-a-kind Orfeh her one-of-a-kind name.