Phantom of the Opera Stars, a Dentist, & Billiards Raise $12,000 from Hurricane Sandy Relief Concert

Dec 20, 2012

Pianist Philip Edward Fisher, Broadway Stars Elizabeth Welch & Jeremy Stolle, Dr. Louis Pannullo, & pro pool player Charlie WilliamsLong Island, New York- Drs. Louis and Julie Pannullo raised $12,000 by hosting a benefit concert for Hurricane Sandy victims with help from Broadway friends and the billiard world’s Dragon Promotions. The Hurricane Sandy Recovery Benefit Concert featured Broadway stars Jeremy Stolle and Elizabeth Welch, who currently play in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway! The event also featured world renowned concert pianist Philip Edward Fisher. The event was sponsored by OB Cues, Championship Cloth and Pool & Billiard Magazine.
“I am truly grateful for the generosity of these three individuals, Philip Edward Fisher, Jeremy Stolle and Elizabeth Welch. As the night passed it felt surreal to be in the presence of such great talent ; the energy in the room was palpable. Accompanying them through many of the pieces was a once in a lifetime experience and comparable to my high run of 46 against John Schmidt in the 2011 World 14.1 Championships. I’m not a professional musician nor a professional pool player, but for certain, one day I’ll have a few great stories to tell my grandchildren. There are interesting similarities between top professional pool players and world class musical stars. Both have a quality that is hard to describe, but when they perform, it’s magical!” said Dr. Pannullo, an avid pool enthusiast and has been a consistent patron sponsor of the World Straight Pool Championships and was introduced to Philip Fisher by Thorsten Hohmann at a pool tournament. This led to a chain reaction of events leading up to his idea of the concert.
With Fisher & Pannullo providing the musical ambiance, Stolle and Welch captivated the audience with their voices and dramatic performances to where it felt as if you were on Broadway! The Phantom of the Opera is the most successful musical show of all time celebrating over 25 straight years on Broadway, making it the longest running show ever in Broadway history. With total worldwide box office receipts of over $5.1 billion, Phantom is the highest-grossing entertainment event of all time, seen by over 130 million people in 27 countries. The Phantom instructs Christine on how to make the 8-Ball
Globe trotting touring pianist Philip Edward Fisher added, “Last Sunday was unbelievable. To have the privilege of taking part in a fundraiser for Hurricane Sandy alongside Broadway starsJeremy Stolle and Elizabeth Welch, and also received an impromptu pool coaching from one of the world’s top player/coaches and promoter, Charlie Williams. It really does not get much better than that!” Philip Edward Fisher is from England and studied at the famed Julliard School of Arts as a classical pianist. Fisher tours year around and performs around the world from Italy, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, Kenya, Zimbabwe, the Ukraine, and United States. He is also an avid pool fan!
“The evening went so well and the people who attended were so lovely. In Phantom of the Opera we perform in front of 1600 people nightly, so the charity event was so much more intimate. It was so enjoyable to see the faces of the audience up close and so engaged in the show. And all for a terrific cause. I would absolutely do it again”, said Elizabeth Welch. She has performed in Les Miserables, West Side Story, and operas Le Nozze di Figaro , Les Contes d’Hoffmann ,L’Elisir d’Amore.
Jeremy Stolle shows Welch how to do it Manhattan Phantom style
Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vioM7P1Cnw0
“It was an amazing night. The audience couldn’t have been better and were so sweet. We had such a good time. I hope everyone enjoyed it”, said Jeremy Stolle. Jeremy has played the Phantom on Broadway as well as numerous productions including Beauty and the Beast, Camelot and television appearances on long running shows Guiding Light and All My Children. (Watch the clip of Jeremy showing off his pool trick shot here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vioM7P1Cnw0 )
After the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, Dr.Pannullo had a power generator at his office and still welcomed patients in need of emergency care, even as his own home and family were without power. Seeing firsthand accounts of his own patients, Dr. Pannullo came up with the idea of the benefit concert and called up close friend Charlie Williams to see about getting the billiards world involved.
“I’m still in shock of the whole experience. In the middle of the performance I updated my Facebook status “The Phantom is singing 4 feet away from me!” . Memorable isn’t the right word, more like …unforgettable. This is something that happens maybe once in your life.!”, said Williams, Founder of famed billiards production company Dragon Promotions and is also world renown billiards pro.
Standing ovations were a common theme of the night as they performed songs from My Fair Lady, Les Miserables, Wicked, Sound of Music, Beauty & the Beast, and of course Phantom of the Opera in the finaleIn the encore performance, up and comer musical vocalist student Athena Margarites was asked to come out to the floor and perform with the Phantom.
“That was probably one of the most coolest things I’ve ever experienced! I was singing face to face with the Phantom of the Opera and thinking, “Oh crap!”" said 19 year old Athena Maragrites, who has aspirations to perform on Broadway one day. Tears streamed down her face as she sung “All I Ask of You” with Stolle.
The audience was moved to tears as several people in the room filled with sniffles and gleaming tear drops streaming down faces. And one more standing ovation.
All proceeds will goto the Salvation Army. Checks can still be made payable to The Salvation Army Disaster Relief .
Fans, please follow these stars at www.facebook.com/elizabethwelchfanpage and www.facebook.com/jeremystollefanpage and www.facebook.com/philipedwardfisher