On Saturday, April 1, Grammy, Emmy, Tony and Webby award-winning and nominated songwriter (“September”, the Friends theme song), artist, performer, co-author of Broadway’s award-winning The Color Purple, “the most interesting woman you’ve never heard of” (The Washington Post), and native Detroiter Allee Willis will host The Detroit Party honoring Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit’s 25th Anniversary at Willis Wonderland, her historic Los Angeles home, the original MGM Party House.
Co-hosting alongside Willis is Grammy, Emmy, Tony, and Academy Award-winning and nominated performer Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie, Nashville, Kennedy Center honoree) and Grammy and Golden Globe-winning songwriter Lamont Dozier (Holland-Dozier-Holland – Songwriters Hall Of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame).
Willis, a renowned impresario of inspired parties and events-as-performance art, will treat guests to an unforgettable evening of soul food, sing-alongs, live auctions from the Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch including massive amounts of vintage Detroit memorabilia, performances by the Mosaic Singers, and a special sneak peak of Willis’ upcoming Detroit record/micro-documentary “The D”, featuring 5,000 Detroiters, more people in history than have ever been on a record before.
The Host Committee for The Detroit Party includes a “who’s who” of Detroiters in LA, including Motown greats such as original Supreme Mary Wilson, original Miracle Claudette Robinson and songwriter Valerie Simpson — and other famous entertainment industry Detroiters such as music producer Don Was and Actress-Comedian Sandra Bernhard.
General admission, VIP, and sponsorship packages are available with proceeds going back to Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit.
Host committee and ticket information can be found here.
Celebrating its 25th Anniversary, Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit is an internationally-acclaimed Creative Youth Development organization making comprehensive theatre and vocal music training accessible to Detroit teens from more than 50 different schools annually. Mosaic’s impact goes far beyond performing. 95% of Mosaic performers have graduated from high school and gone on to college — far above the percentages for youth nationally from similar backgrounds.
Mosaic’s young artists have become cultural ambassadors for Detroit, performing in Africa, Asia, Europe and 30 states and provinces throughout the U.S. and Canada, including performances at The White House, The Kennedy Center, The Apollo Theater and Carnegie Hall. Mosaic’s vocal ensemble, the Mosaic Singers, have opened for legends Aretha Franklin, Al Green, The Temptations, and Harry Belafonte, and have performed with Sweet Honey in the Rock, on tour with Josh Groban and on an acoustic album with rock legends Foreigner. Mosaic alumni have been nominated for Tony and Emmy Awards, with an alumnus recently performing on Broadway in The Color Purple musical co-authored by Willis. Mosaic is featured in Willis’ upcoming Detroit record/micro-documentary “The D”.
Willis, who has received a “Spirit of Detroit” award and an official “Testimonial Resolution” from the City Council for her work on behalf of Detroit to date, has worked closely with Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit for years – including collaborating with Mosaic on her upcoming Detroit record/micro-documentary “The D”.
