Community Corner
Stars Turn Out For Charity
One Night Only delivered 20 stars who paid homage to Palm Springs' musical legends to raise funds for Jewish Family Services.
I was reminded last night while attending Michael Childers production of One Night Only at the about what a special community we live in. A sold out crowd showed up to pay homage to musical legends who have all lived in the desert at one time or another.
Twenty stars from stage and screen flew in to deliver one act in the variety-style show to raise funds for Jewish Family Services. All the stars performed for free including Alex Mapa, the "Ugly Betty" star who acted as the evening's emcee.
Each act was introduced by a screen showing the home and address of the star that had lived here followed by a rendition of one of their classic hits.
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Some highlights of the evening were Michele Lee with Johnny Mercer's "I Want to be Around"; Danny Gurwin singing Irving Berlin's "Swinging on a Star"; Anne Hampton Callaway's delivery of "Pick Yourself Up" from Swingtime and Jason Graae's slowed down version of Barry Manilow's "Copacabana" complete with on stage dancers.
In the green room, Stefanie Powers shared a meal with Opera singer Nick Palance and said this was one of her favorite events of the year that she looked forward to.
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The audience was filled with the desert's most high profile philanthropists like Barbara and Jerry Keller, Harold Matzner, Helene Galen (who recently donated $1 million dollars to the Palm Desert satellite location of the Palm Springs Art Museum), David Lee and Mark Nichols, and McCallum Director Ted Giatas.
The heartwarming event was ended with a finale of the song "One Night Only" from Dreamgirls with the entire cast filling the stage with heartwarming togetherness.
Co-chair Barbara Keller and her husband Jerry opened up a large section of their restaurant Acqua Pazza after the performance for the cast and supporters to enjoy a hosted dinner and drinks.
In it's sixth year of production, the annual event raises much needed funds for Jewish Family Services, an organization dedicated to helping people in need in our community regardless of religious identity or lifestyle.
