by Rod Jones
Broadway superstar Kelli OāHara will visit Ļć½¶Šć University for a special presentation at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21. The presentation is free to the public and will be held in the Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel on N.W. 23rd Street between Blackwelder and Kentucky avenues.
Entrance will be through the upper west doors and doors will open at 6:15 p.m.
The event is made possible by Ļć½¶Šćās Martha Jean Lemon Speaker Series. The series features speakers and programs that promote religious leadership and service, and recognize the importance of historical perspective and social responsibility.
OāHara will talk about her career and life experiences that include growing up in western Oklahoma and attending college at Ļć½¶Šć. She will also perform a few songs with accompaniment from Ļć½¶Šć music professor Jan McDaniel on piano.
āKelli OāHara is a great ambassador for Ļć½¶Šć and for Oklahoma,ā said Marty OāGwynn, Ļć½¶Šć vice president of university advancement. āShe never misses an opportunity to brag about her Oklahoma roots. We look forward to her remarks. This is a special opportunity for Ļć½¶Šć to welcome Kelli through the Martha Jean Lemon Speaker Series.
āThe Lemon family seeks to bring inspiring personalities to share with our campus community, and Kelliās career, family experience and spiritual journey combine to make this a perfect fit.ā
OāHara will be inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame on Nov. 17. She won the Tony Award for Leading Actress in a Musical in 2015 for her performance in one of the most critically acclaimed productions in the country, āThe King and Iā at the Lincoln Center Theater. She is currently performing solo shows across the country, including a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City later this month.
OāHara, lauded as āBroadwayās golden girl and luminous starā by The New York Times, has had an additional five Tony Award nominations for her work in āThe Bridges of Madison County,ā āNice Work if You Can Get It,ā āThe Light in the Piazza,ā āThe Pajama Gameā and āSouth Pacific.ā She has also been nominated for Grammy awards twice and has appeared in film and television shows including āAlexander Hamilton,ā āSex & The City 2,ā āBlue Bloodsā and āNUMB3RS.ā
The Martha Jean Lemon Speakers Series was established through a gift from Lynette Lemon Wert and Larry H. Lemon on behalf of the Lemon family to honor Martha Jean Lemon, who graduated from Ļć½¶Šć in 1968 with a degree in history and worked as an independent comparative religion scholar.
While the event is free to the public, there is limited seating and guests are encouraged to arrive early. For more information, visit okcu.edu or call 405-208-7000.
