Carol Channing with CSU, Chico's student troupe The Off Broadways

Broadway Legend Supports Students

Carol Channing, one of Broadway’s greatest living legends, visited CSU, Chico Sept. 10 to perform with CSU, Chico’s talented music theatre troupe, The Off Broadways.

During this special scholarship benefit, Carol Channing reminisced about her 60-plus years in show business and sang songs from some of the Broadway hits that made her a legend and a recipient of a 1995 Lifetime Achievement Tony Award. Channing donated all proceeds from the performance, as well as made a significant personal contribution, to establish the Carol Channing Musical Theatre Performing Arts Scholarship Endowment at Chico State.

The event was part of a statewide effort by Channing to highlight the value of the arts and to re-establish the value of the arts in our school systems. Channing’s new role as a performing arts philanthropist may have been seeded years ago, in the lines she spoke through Dolly Levi, “Money, pardon the expression, is like manure. It's not worth a thing unless it's spread around, encouraging young things to grow.”

“That line says it all — Carol is spreading her passion to the next generation,” says Joel P. Rogers, chair of CSU, Chico’s Department of Theatre Arts. “Nothing can be as exciting — this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our students to learn and grow and benefit from a legend.”