WHAT: The seventh annual Apple Award public Q&A session (April 15) and gala/theatrical performance (April 16) brings Broadway, film and TV superstars, Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin to Wayne State University and to Detroit's Fisher Theatre.

On April 15 there is a free public Q&A session on campus with the stars, Ms. LuPone and Mr. Patinkin, at Wayne State's Schaver Music Recital Hall. It runs from 2:30 to approx. 3:30 p.m.

On April 16, WSU and the Nederlander Company present the seventh annual Apple Award gala at 6 p.m., at the Fisher Theatre, with a wine and hors d'oeuvres reception, a performance of the touring show "An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin" and a post-performance afterglow with the stars. Tickets to the evening's entire lineup of Apple Award events are $200 per person and available through Wayne State Special Events: http://theatre.wayne.edu/appleaward.php.

Tickets to just the night's performance of "An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin" are available through Ticketmaster. All Fisher Theatre proceeds from this night will be donated to WSU theatre: http://theatre.wayne.edu/files/Apple2009Ticketmaster.pdf.

WHEN/WHERE:

• Wednesday, April 15, 2:30 p.m., WSU's Schaver Music Recital Hall (Old Main Annex building), 480 W. Hancock Street: "Free, Public Question-and-Answer Session with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin"

• Thursday, April 16, 6:00 p.m., Fisher Theatre, Detroit: "Apple Award Gala and Performance"

BACKGROUND:

Patti LuPone's memorable performances include Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes (Drama Desk Award, Tony nomination), Evita (Tony and Drama Desk Awards) and Rosamund in The Robber Bridegroom (1976 Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations). For London performances in Les Miserables and The Cradle Will Rock, she won an Olivier Award and she received another Olivier nomination for her work in Sunset Boulevard. Among her many film credits are Driving Miss Daisy and Witness. Television credits include Frasier (1998 Emmy nomination), Law & Order (with Wayne State alumna S. Epatha Merkerson), OZ (with WSU alumnus Ernie Hudson) and The Song Spinner, for which she received a Daytime Emmy nomination. Visit pattilupone.net for more.

In his Broadway debut, Mandy Patinkin won a Tony Award for his role as Che in Evita and was nominated for his role in the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Sunday in the Park with George. His film credits include Dick Tracy, The Princess Bride, Ragtime, True Colors and Yentl. He won a 1995 Emmy Award for his critically acclaimed performance in the television series Chicago Hope. Among his many album recordings is Mamaloshen, a collection of traditional, classic and contemporary songs sung entirely in Yiddish, which won the Deutschen Schallplattenpreis, Germany's equivalent of the Grammy Award. Visit mandypatinkin.net for more.