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<\/a>The producers of the show, welcoming the audience. Photo by Earl Gibson III for the ALS Association Golden West Chapter.<\/p><\/div>\n
In case you\u2019re not familiar with ALS, it\u2019s the progressive neurodegenerative disease that was made famous when Yankee great Lou Gehrig had to retire because of it, which is all that most people know about it. It\u2019s absolutely horrible, so raising funds for research to fight it is mandatory. Last year\u2019s Ice Bucket Challenge went a long way to help with that, and other events, such as this beautiful show, pitch in a lot, as well.<\/p>\n
One Starry Night<\/em> was held once again at the Pasadena Playhouse, which is actually my favorite theatre in Los Angeles. It\u2019s such a perfect venue for three-part soirees such as this, with it\u2019s lovely courtyard, close proximity to redwhite+bluezz, (the restaurant that hosted the two receptions that evening,) and especially the very comfortable theatre itself.<\/p>\n Some of the silent auction items. Photo by Earl Gibson III for the ALS Association Golden West Chapter.<\/p><\/div>\n As we arrived, (right alongside headliner Jason Alexander, I might add,) the patio was absolutely jumping! In the warm summer night, so many people were happy to mingle outside. But my friend, Alice, and I went into the VIP party at the aforementioned eatery to enjoy some of their delicious fare. The buffet for this very special fete featured salads, fresh fruit, and a carving station with turkey and prime rib. Yu-um! There were also a lot of passed appetizers, like crab cakes, beef sliders, caprese salad on skewers, and my<\/em> favorite, spicy crispy chicken sticks. The whole while, the silent auction was being conducted, with lots of exciting goodies up for grabs.<\/p>\n For once, I have to say that the show was even better than the food! It was fabulous performance after fabulous performance! They\u2019re all very talented, and obviously very kind and caring people to have donated their services. Alice hadn\u2019t seen last year\u2019s rendition, so she went extra-nuts over this revue of wonderful singers, dancers, and variety acts. You know my linear mind has to go in order, but please read this whole column to discover my surprise favorite act of the evening.<\/p>\n So here are just a few of the highlights:<\/p>\n Scott Land and friend. Photo by Earl Gibson III for the ALS Association Golden West Chapter.<\/p><\/div>\n Broadway star Valerie Pettiford<\/strong> was the first one up. (You might know her from TV\u2019s The Blacklist<\/em>.) Let me tell you, that woman is a performer with a capital P! She was marvelous, and made the most of her time on stage, which was made even better by a group of energetic young dancers backing her up. [The big pic at the top is of\u00a0Valerie Pettiford and company. Photo by Earl Gibson III for the ALS Association Golden West Chapter.]<\/p>\n Then perennial soap star Bill Hayes<\/strong> did a delightful little song and dance. His rendition of Put on a Happy Face<\/em> (from Bye Bye Birdie<\/em>) was not only charming, but very appropriate for the evening, and made us all smile, as the song told us to do!<\/p>\n Comedienne Wendy Liebman<\/strong> added some great humor to the proceedings. I\u2019ve seen her work over the years, and I think she\u2019s actually gotten funnier with age. And I absolutely love her new longer locks! You go, girl!<\/p>\n Joanne Worley. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n One of our absolute favorites, (and I think the same goes for everybody in that audience,) was Scott Land<\/strong>\u2019s marionettes. Besides being funny and spot-on, they were so real<\/em>. My heart actually broke for the sad clown one. I had to remind myself that he wasn\u2019t human. (Or was<\/em> he?) The whole act was just brilliant!<\/p>\n John Lloyd Young<\/strong>, (who played the spectacular Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys<\/em> on Broadway,) sang a beautiful, unrushed Unchained Melody<\/em>. The Righteous Brothers would have been proud!<\/p>\n When Joanne Worley,<\/strong> (of Laugh-In<\/em> fame,) appeared after intermission, (at this very theatre where she had begun the Los Angeles portion of her show biz career!,) Alice almost jumped out of her seat. She\u2019s such a fan of hers, and Joanne did not disappoint. I\u2019ve seen her at soooo many events in Los Angeles throughout the years, and still had no idea that she sings<\/em>!!! Her ditty, Vodka<\/em>, was just fabulous! She was the highlight of the show for Alice, for sure! (The song was written in 1926 by George Gershwin and Oscar Hammerstein, but Joanne performed it like it was new. I had to do a lot of research to find-out just what it is!)<\/p>\n Hal Linden. Photo by Earl Gibson III for the ALS Association Golden West Chapter.<\/p><\/div>\n But then came my surprise highlight. My head is still reeling from this performance by Hal Linden<\/strong>. Of course, I\u2019ve always known him as TV\u2019s Barney Miller<\/em>, and I\u2019ve heard him sing a time or two, as well, in his booming baritone. So, when he came out toting a clarinet, I thought he was going to play a note or two in the middle of singing, to impress us. But, he wound-up not singing at all<\/em>, but rather playing a whole Benny Goodman medley that would have literally knocked my socks off, if I had been wearing any. I had no idea Hal Linden had that level of musical talent. It was truly amazing. (Thank you, One Starry Night<\/em>, for revealing that to me!) When Sing, Sing, Sing<\/em> ended, I almost gave myself whiplash jumping to my feet. I have a feeling I mooned the audience members behind me, (because my skirt was short, and I couldn\u2019t give up applauding wildly for even one second to pull it down,) but I didn\u2019t even care. That\u2019s how enthralled I was with Hal\u2019s (and the band\u2019s) performance. Wow. Just wow. I was blown away, as I\u2019m sure we all<\/em> were. I\u2019ve been jitterbugging through life since that night.<\/p>\n Hayley Mills and Richard Sherman! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n After that, I did not think I could calm down to enjoy any other act. I thought, \u201cReally, who can follow that<\/em>?\u201d But I almost cried when the beautiful Hayley Mills<\/strong>, my idol since I was a little girl, floated onstage. I had just found-out that morning that she would be making an appearance, (or else you know I would have definitely included her in my preview of the event,) and was a tad worried about what grown-up Hayley Mills would be like. The little girl is so engrained in my mind, (Parent Trap<\/em> is one of my two favorite movies of all time,) that I almost didn\u2019t want to see her in person at any other age. And, of course, I wanted her to be twins. (Please don\u2019t ever mention to me that she is not<\/em>! I need to hold on to some fantasies in life.) But I need not have been concerned. She became a beautiful woman, and Alice and I both went nuts over her dress, which was the best of the night. After she spoke, (eloquently, of course,) she brought out our mutual good buddy, prolific songwriter, (and uber-nice gent,) Richard Sherman<\/strong>. And then they dueted on\u2014get ready for it\u2014Let\u2019s Get Together<\/em>, her song from Parent Trap<\/em>! It was a truly magical moment, and one I\u2019ll be forever grateful that I witnessed up-close and personal like that. (So, here\u2019s another \u201cthank you\u201d to One Starry Night<\/em>.)<\/p>\n Jason Alexander and the band. Photo by Earl Gibson III for the ALS Association Golden West Chapter.<\/p><\/div>\n So, now, what performer would be secure enough to follow this already-incredible line-up, you ask? Well, none other than Seinfeld<\/em>\u2019s Jason Alexander<\/strong>! I had never seen that show, (don\u2019t judge–it was on during my clubbing days,) but, of course I know who he is. And that he\u2019s also an excellent singer. But what he did this night was beyond. He came complete with a comic spiel and a whole musical act, based on Broadway roles he wants<\/em> to play. It was a real musical comedy act, but my main take-away is that he has a great voice! I would have been happy to listen to him sing an entire song of the many he sang just a line or two from, including Jesus Christ Superstar<\/em>. The whole audience really appreciated Jason.<\/p>\n There were many more performers than that, but not enough space here to laud them all. So you\u2019ll just have to go to next<\/em> year\u2019s One Starry Night<\/em> to witness it all for yourselves.<\/p>\n President of the Golden West Chapter, Fred Fisher, making the presentation to Gleason. Photo by Earl Gibson III for the ALS Association Golden West Chapter.<\/p><\/div>\n Perhaps most importantly, in the middle of all this music and levity, there were several serious moments, (but not maudlin ones.) First up was the Spotlight Award to the filmmakers of the documentary Gleason<\/em>, which follows former pro football player Steve Gleason though his journey from famous athlete to ALS patient. I\u2019ve followed him myself through the years, and, if this film doesn\u2019t make you understand what living with ALS is like, nothing will. As sad as it is, I\u2019m glad that someone made it. (And also that Steve had the vision to make a video diary for his, at the time, soon-to-be-born, son.)<\/p>\n The finale. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n The Commitment to Care Award was presented to a team of doctors from Kaiser Permanente Southern California, who are really helping in the fight against ALS. Scott Miller, the doctor who spoke for the team, said the research isn\u2019t just about curing<\/em> the disease, but healing<\/em>, as well. There is a fine difference I don\u2019t think many of us would have thought of. He added, \u201cNobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.\u201d Spot-on, Scott!<\/p>\n Part of the dessert buffet. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n After a rousing finish to the show, by all the performers, and the wonderful Richard Allen<\/strong>-led band, (who added so much to the night\u2014there\u2019s nothing like live music!,) we moved back into redwhite+bluezz for a dessert meet-and-greet. Richard Sherman did me the solid of introducing me to Hayley, and she was as sweet as could be. She expressed to me that she was impressed that I\u2019m a writer<\/em>! Who would have thought that my idol would think that? OMG!<\/p>\n It was truly a \u201cstarry night,\u201d for one and all. I sincerely hope that ALS will be cured by this time next year, but, since that\u2019s probably being way too optimistic, I then hope to see all of my readers at next years\u2019 rendition of One Starry Night<\/em>! I can\u2019t imagine what fabulousness and surprises they\u2019ll have in store for us then!<\/p>\n And if you now feel inspired to donate, or would just like to learn more about ALS, or are curious to see the complete list of this year\u2019s One Starry Night<\/em> performers, please go to: www.alsagoldenwest.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ONE STARRY NIGHT 2016 First let me say upfront that I wish that people would just donate to causes to be nice, instead of also needing to be entertained. But since that charity model does exist, the recent One Starry Night was the perfect show to raise funds. It benefited the Golden West Chapter of<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>