By Leslie Albrecht
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — The self-obsessed character she plays on TV probably wouldn't waste her time performing at a public school benefit, but actress Jane Krakowski is lending her star power to P.S. 84.
Krakowski, who was nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal of high-maintenance, slightly unhinged Jenna Maroney on NBC's "30 Rock," will headline a Jan. 23 fundraiser called "Reading, Writing and Cabaret" for P.S. 84, also known as the Lillian Weber School for the Arts.
With a neighborhood full of artists and entertainers, Upper West Side schools regularly feature parents who are Broadway performers at fundraisers in school auditoriums, said P.S. 84 PTA co-president Blake Lawrence.
"We took that idea and kicked it up a couple of notches," Lawrence said. "We're branching out. It's not something that's geared toward the parents at the school, it's geared toward the Manhattan community."
The $100 ticket event will be held at the Ailey Citigroup Theater on W. 55th Street. The school has also lined up Broadway performers Kerry Butler, Kate Baldwin and Graham Rowat. Tickets, on sale through P.S. 84's website, include a cocktail reception, silent auction and live auction.
Though known for her acting on "30 Rock," Krakowski is also an accomplished singer. She performed a sold-out run of cabaret shows last year at Feinstein's at Loews Regency and recorded a live album of the show.
Krakowski is an old friend of P.S. 84 parents Carol and Michael Kosarin, who was the musical director for Krakowski's cabaret show and album.
The school is hoping the fundraiser will help cover costs for P.S. 84's arts programs, teaching assistants in classrooms and supplies for the school's dual language immersion programs in French and Spanish, Carol Kosarin said.
Kosarin added that P.S. 84, on West 92nd Street and Central Park West, is a Title 1 school, which means that 65 percent of its students are low-income.
"We’ve done as much fundraising as we can among the families, but with the economy the way it is, families are really having a hard time," Kosarin said. "We've gone out to greater New York and we're hoping that a benefit with these high-caliber individuals will be able to pull in some funding."
