SCR/Party Play with Ann Conway

Underwriting Co-chair Dee Higby and SCR Managing Director Paula Tomei

Future Gala Committee member Simone and her mom Ashley Aitken

Olivia Johnson, Nancy Kelley and Susan Anderson

Designer Tom Buderwitz with sketches of Gala designs-in-progress.

'AFFAIR IN SHANGHAI' COMMITTEE BEGINS TO DEFINE GALA DESIGN, CUISINE AND ENTERTAINMENT
By Ann Conway

SCR Gala Ball "Affair in Shanghai," September 8, 2007. Call 714-708-5504

Theater-lovers attending SCR's Sept. 8 Gala at the tony hotel The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel will feel as if they've stepped into an Asian fantasy when they arrive at an "Affair in Shanghai," members of the Gala Committee revealed when they met June 12 in the Segerstrom Stage lobby.

The alfresco reception staged in the hotel's lushly landscaped courtyard will not only feature the romance of Old Shanghai — with colorful lanterns and a gushing pagoda fountain — it will offer guests a generous sampling of gourmet Asian delicacies and feature the committee's signature cocktail, Shanghai Kiss, along with the traditional gala offerings of Champagne and mixed drinks.

Dinner — a three-act repast of the ultimate in delectable Asian offerings — will be served in a ballroom reflecting the cutting-edge scene that is the New Shanghai, showcasing a colorscape of vibrant neon tones and an entertainment stage featuring JT and The California Dreamin’ (a 28-piece band ensemble).

The Committee, chaired by Betty Huang, was thrilled to learn that they were more than half way to the Gala goal — in excess of $500,000 — and hoped to be at 100% by the evening of the Patron Party August 16, reported Dee Higby and Aletha Anderson, Underwriting Co-Chairs.

Also reporting on the progress of their sub-committees were Teri Kennady and Marlene Hamontree (Graphics); Julie Schultz and Randy Morrison (Decor) with Tom Buderwitz; Linda Hovee and Valerie Fearns (Entertainment); Danuta Schenke and Gail Doe (Cusine); and Nancy Kelley and Olivia Johnson (Hospitality).

Proceeds from the SCR Gala constitute the first and largest donation to the theatre’s Annual Fund, in support of education programs. On June 12, Committee members witnessed firsthand the fruits of their labors; as they met, school children, having just seen the Theatre for Young Audiences production of The Only Child on the Julianne Argyros Stage, spilled happily into the lobby.