No industry has been hit harder by the recession than the entertainment industry. Broadway plays have closed, fewer movies are being made, and television is flooded with cheaper reality shows. While the hits keep on coming and stars continue to be born, the downturn has put many people out of work. Besides actors, those now standing in unemployment lines include writers, directors, producers, stage hands, composers, musicians, costume designers, set designers, lighting experts, make-up professionals, and many, many more. One thing about this industry of so many creative people: they take care of their own. Many stars who have made it remember what it was like to struggle. They want to help.
And help they did on October 26 when some of Broadway and Hollywood’s brightest stars lit up the stage at the Minskoff Theatre in an Actors Fund benefit entitled, “Chance & Chemistry: A Centennial Celebration of Frank Loesser.” Proceeds for the benefit will go to support Actors Fund programs, everything from health care to financial assistance.
“The Actors Fund is always ready during these volatile times,” said Joseph P. Benincasa, the Fund’s executive director. “The Fund’s essential and unique programs are available to everyone who works in television, film, theatre, music, opera, radio and dance in times of need, crisis or transition.”
Jo Sullivan Loesser chaired the event with Sir Paul McCartney (in photo above), and the hosts included Annette Bening, Kevin McCollum, the Broadway producer, and Jonathan Tisch, chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels. Like Tisch, many of the benefit’s donors love theater and film and came out to support those who work in the industry. (Photo at top shows, from left, Jo Sullivan Loesser, Annette Bening, Jonathan Tisch, Sir Paul McCartney, Kevin McCollum, and Brain Stokes Mitchell).
The evening’s production, the equivalent of a Broadway musical, was directed and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli (South Pacific, Sunday in the Park with George, and Altar Boyz) with musical direction by Brad Haak (Mary Poppins). Loesser has inspired generations of performers and musicians and those who graced the stage during the benefit seemed thrilled they were chosen to participate in this tribute.
Liz Callaway, who devoted her first solo album to Loesser, sang “I’ll Know When My Love Comes Along,” from Guys and Dolls. Ashley Brown, Broadway’s Mary Poppins, followed with a Loesser ballad, “I Wish I Didn’t Love You So.”
Steven Pasquale, best known for his role in FX’s Rescue Me, wowed the crowd with his rendition of “Never Will I Marry,” from Loesser’s Greenwillow, a musical that ran for less than 100 performances in 1960. Pasquale was then joined on stage by his wife, Tony Award-winner Laura Benanti to sing “I Have Seen the Light in Your Eyes.”
Show stoppers were two other Guys and Dolls songs, “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” performed with gusto by Mario Cantone, supported by a talented ensemble of singers and dancers, and “Luck Be a Lady,” with a fabulous turn by Brian Stokes Mitchell. Ana Gasteyer charmed with her brief moment as Adelaide singing “Adelaide’s Lament.”
Patrick Wilson gave a soulful rendition of “Joey” from The Most Happy Fella, while John Bolton and Liz Larsen had fun with “Big D” from the same musical. John McMartin and Phyllis Newman, whose Women’s Initiative at the Actors Fund aids women with serious illnesses, bantered with a trio of muppets.
A surprise appearance was made by Art Garfunkel. Jo Sullivan Loesser explained that she heard him sing one of her husband’s songs, “Two Sleepy People,” and loved his interpretation. She called and asked him to sing it at the benefit. How could he say no?
Sir Paul McCartney, the evening’s co-chair, not only treated the audience with a song, but also surprised with his choice, Loesser’s “I’d Like to Get You on a Slow Boat to China.” He joins a roster of others—everyone from Rosemary Clooney to Fats Domino to Miss Piggy—who at one time or another, have warbled this famous tune. The audience loved it!
The closing number was a rousing performance of “Brotherhood of Man” from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying led by John Stamos. The song was the perfect end to a perfect evening and conveyed the sentiments of the Actors Fund: to come together and help each other.
Photos by Lyn Hughes.
For more information on the Actors Fund, go to www.actorsfund.org
