By Amy Woods
A three-time Tony Award nominee for roles in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and 9 to 5, Marc Kudisch also has film / television credits (Mindhunter on Netflix and Billions on Showtime) and opera credits (A Little Night Music and Pirates of Penzance). Kudisch’s fame and success began after he attended Florida Atlantic University’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the Boca Raton-based institute of humanities that celebrates its 30th anniversary of its being renamed this month.
“We try to make the C.A.S.T. party a lot of fun,” said Michael Horswell, the college’s dean, referring to the Feb. 19 Culture, Arts and Society Today party. “We have great entertainment, and this year, we have the headliner.”
Kudisch was in the theater department’s class of 1988 — its first — five years prior to the transformational gift by Charles E. Schmidt and the Schmidt Family Foundation that renamed the college.
“It is more of a friend-raiser — getting the word out about the college and all of our majors and our 13 departments,” Horswell said of the three-hour event that will take place at the Boca Raton Marriott at Boca Center. “We think it’s extremely important for students to continue that tradition of well-rounded exposure to the humanities — to the liberal arts, if you will.”
The benefit for student scholarships will feature cocktails, gourmet food and live numbers with Kudisch. Other entertainment includes the FAU Jazz Band, visual-arts popups and dancing to the music department’s commercial band. The goal is to raise $100,000.
“That allows us to fund the most meritorious students — the standouts who are doing well but still have financial need and the students in need,” Horswell said. Another highlight of the C.A.S.T. party is its three honorees:
• Philanthropist Myrna Gordon Skurnick, who has contributed tirelessly to the arts in South Florida.
• BrandStar, a corporate benefactor that funded the expansion of the college’s studio theater into BrandStar Studios at FAU.
• Charles E. Schmidt and the Schmidt Family Foundation.
“My mother would have been proud to recognize this milestone,” said Dick Schmidt, son of Charles E. and Dorothy F. Schmidt. “She knew the importance of the arts and education, and she made it her mission to make both more widely available.”
If You Go
What: Florida Atlantic University’s Culture, Arts and Society Today (C.A.S.T.) party
When: 6 to 9 p.m. Feb. 19
Where: Boca Raton Marriott at Boca Center, 5150 Town Center Circle
Cost: $300
Information: 561-297-2337 or fauf.fau.edu/2023cast
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