Angela Bassett to host Pageant gala

The 11th annual Pageant of the Masters Gala on Aug. 29 will have a roster of screen and television celebrities, but Cloris Leachman, slated to host this year, had to bow out due to a scheduling conflict, according to spokeswoman Sharbie Higuchi.

Filling in for Leachman will be Angela Bassett, who received an Oscar nomination for portraying Tina Turner and has been in “Waiting to Exhale,” “How Stella Got Her Groove Back,” “Akeelah and the Bee” and “Malcolm X.” She also played Dr. Cate Banfield in “ER.”

The red-carpet event will include music, dancing and a special performance of this summer’s Pageant of the Masters show, “The Muse.”

Other guest celebrities expected to turn up are: Valerie Bertinelli, Creed Bratton, LeVar Burton, Paget Brewster, A.J. Cook, Adrienne Curry, Elisa Donovan, Tony Dow, Matthew Gray Gubler, Kate Flannery, Melora Hardin, Florence Henderson, Gregory Itzin, Christopher Knight, Joshua Malina, Joe Mantegna, Joseph Mascolo, Jerry Mathers, Donna Mills, Eve Plumb, Charles Shaughnessy, Ethan Suplee, Courtney Vance and Kirsten Vangsness.

Tickets are $50 to $350 on the Festival of Arts grounds, 650 Laguna Canyon Road. The $350 seats include a gourmet dinner at Tivoli Terrace. Proceeds will benefit the Festival of Arts Building Fund.

For more information about the gala, call (800) 487-3378. For information about the Pageant of the Masters, visit www.LagunaFestivalofArts.org.