Jeffrey Drew

Jeffrey Drew (born 1964) is an American musical theatre dancer/actor who has performed in more than 25 musicals[1] and, since 1995, has been a casting associate for television.[2] He received several "Best & Brightest Awards" from California non-profit Aid For AIDS for his significant fundraising support.[1] The City of West Hollywood honored him in 2008 with the "Paul J. Starke Warrior Award" for his long-standing charitable work in the HIV/AIDS community and his support of Aid For AIDS.[1]

Career

Jeffrey Drew’s most notable stage roles were in the last National Tour of the musical Evita (music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice; directed by Harold Prince and Larry Fuller)[3] and the Off-Broadway production of Blessing in Disguise (writer/director, Larry Pellegrini).[4] In 2011, he became the director and choreographer for the annual, theatrical production Best In Drag Show in Los Angeles, benefiting Aid For AIDS.[5] He returned in 2012 to direct the spoof, in its 22nd year overall as an AIDS assistance fundraiser.[6] He created the stage character, "Lotta Slots," a drag (clothing) diva for fundraising, and has regularly performed in stage benefits as "Lotta" for more than 15 years.[7] Drew is a casting associate at Patrick Rush Casting. His television show casting credits since 1995 include The OC, Men In Trees, Privileged (TV series), Chuck (TV series), Dallas (1978 TV series) and Human Target (TV series).[2][8]

Charitable Work

Jeffrey Drew has organized and starred in numerous fundraisers for AIDS assistance and the recovery community in Los Angeles. Most notably, he created the drag character, "Lotta Slots"—a “former Miss Nevada,” in 1997 for the California non-profit Aid For AIDS annual benefit, Battle for the Tiara, which was a beauty pageant farce. He won the competition in 1998 with a show-stopping performance of the song, Midnight at the Oasis, while sitting on one of the largest white camels in the United States.[7] The 1998 fundraiser featuring Drew and the other contestants was filmed as a documentary (Battle for the Tiara) by Charley Lang and Eric Schiff, which won awards in the film festival circuit, including “Audience Favorite” at the Outfest Film Festival in Los Angeles.[9][10][11] In 1999, Drew was invited to return in character as the show’s Color Commentator to replace the ailing Alexis Pittman, who created the annual fundraiser, Battle for the Tiara, in 1989. Following Pittman’s death from AIDS in 1999, the show stopped for two years before returning as the current, celebrity supported Best in Drag Show with the original group of volunteers and Drew as the opening musical star and one of two color commentators. He performed in these volunteer roles from 2002 to 2010. In 2011, he accepted the position of show director/choreographer. Since 2002, through his key support of the fundraiser Best In Drag Show, he has helped a dedicated group of volunteers raise more than two million dollars collectively for Aid For AIDS in California.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Aid For AIDS website. Events.. Retrieved July 6, 2011
  2. 1 2 IMDb website. Jeffrey Drew. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  3. ↑ Stark, Larry. "Evita." The Theatre Mirror. 1999.. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  4. ↑ Gates, Anita. "Sure, Life May Be a Drag, But You Can Laugh at It." New York Times. October 29, 2002 . Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  5. ↑ Aid For AIDS/Index
  6. ↑ Aid For AIDS announces the 2012 Best In Drag Show . Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  7. 1 2 "Arts & Media: Battle for the Tiara." The Advocate. August 7, 1999.
  8. ↑ Backstage.com resources
  9. ↑ IMDb website. Battle for the Tiara. "Winner Best Documentary": Outfest Los Angeles. Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Sydney queerDOC Film Festival entries.. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  10. ↑ Battle for the Tiara documentary film. 1998. Dakota FilmWorks . Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  11. ↑ IMDb website. Battle for the Tiara

External links

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