Academy, Grammy, Tony award winners...Social Secretary Desiree Rogers has outdone herself with the cultural line up for the State Dinner this evening, when President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama host India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The music will not so much be entertainment as it will be a tour through an incredible wonderland of styles by artists who are at the top of their powers.
Academy Award (and Grammy and Tony award) winning composer Marvin Hamlisch will conduct the orchestra that will accompany Academy/Grammy award winning actress/singer Jennifer Hudson, who is just returning to performance after having a baby--although she's starring in a new biopic as Winnie Mandela. A.R. Rahman, a two-time Academy Award winner and composer of Jai Ho, the theme for Slumdog Millionaire (among many other global hits) will also perform; he's a musical nod to India, so to speak, and incredibly popular in the US too. Kurt Elling, a Chicago-based jazz vocalist who's considered a legend and who also plays around the world, will be joined by his pianist and musical director, Laurence Hobgood. Elling's an Obama pal from back in the old Chicago days, though he's reportedly relocated to New York.
The Hollywood contingent...
Hudson has performed for President Obama since the inauguration: She sang at his DNC fundraiser in Los Angeles last May, where she was joined by the White House house band, Earth Wind & Fire. Amusingly, on that same evening, which featured a lavish dinner at the Beverly Hilton Hotel (home of the Golden Globe Awards), Ari Emanuel, Rahm's brother, was hosting a dueling fund raising dinner for President Obama in the penthouse of the same hotel. Ari will be at the State Dinner tonight, too, along with a Hollywood contingent that reportedly includes Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, David Geffen, Brad Pitt and George Clooney--some of whom were present at Ari's dinner in LA. (Photo above of Hudson at the DNC fundraiser)
*Photo by Obama Foodorama. Washington Post reported Jennifer Hudson; Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood reported the Hollywood guest list.
