Al Green, India.Arie to Serenade Obama at the Apollo
MANHATTAN — President Barack Obama is set to take take center stage at the legendary Apollo Theater next week, where he’ll be serenaded by crooners Al Green and India.Arie.
Officials at the Harlem theater confirmed to DNAinfo that the president will make an appearance at a concert fundraiser in his honor on Jan. 19.
According to an invitation posted by Politico, the show, which is being hosted by The Obama Victory Fund 2012, will kick off at 7 p.m. and will also feature Lin-Manuel Miranda as a special guest.
This is not the first time the president has turned a spotlight onto the historic venue and other neighborhood landmarks. Obama held a fundraiser at the Apollo back in 2007, and in 2011, he visited the up-and-coming Red Rooster restaurant and Studio Museum.
Unlike other upcoming events where the admission prices soar close to the $40,000-per-plate range, tickets will begin at $100 to attend the concert, with premium orchestra seating costing $500 and including a pre-show reception with Lin-Manuel Miranda. The photo reception, premium seating and pre-show reception package costs $5,000 to $25,000.
Director Spike Lee and his wife, Tonya Lee Lewis, are set to host the president for dinner in their Upper East Side brownstone at 6 p.m. on Jan. 19, Page Six reported last week.
That intimate reception for 60 is expected to raise nearly a quarter of a million dollars for the president’s reelection bid, which Lee evidently thinks the incumbent will need.
“It’s going to be tough. It’s going to be a fight,” Lee was quoted in the Hollywood Reporter as saying.
Obama will also reportedly make a stop at a reception with Jewish leaders hosted by Dr. Daniel E. Fass and Alexandra Stanton, at the restaurant Daniel on the Upper East Side.
Tickets for that event will reportedly cost $5,000 or $25,000 for a meet-and-greet, complete with a photo opportunity.
The restaurant declined to comment on the report. Fass and Stanton did not return calls for comment.
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