‘DON JUAN’ PERFORMANCE WILL AID ‘FOR KIDS SAKE’

Thanks to the efforts of 16-year-old Jerry McDonald, a special performance of George Bernard Shaw’s “Don Juan in Hell” will be presented Sunday to benefit For Kids Sake, a Brea organization dedicated to preventing child abuse.

The performance will be given by the Fullerton Chamber Theatre Ensemble at the Dr. C. Glenn Curtis Performing Arts Theatre at 7:30 p.m.

McDonald, a member of Boy Scouts of America Troop 850 in Villa Park, is producing the event as an Eagle Scout project, with help from Volunteers for Kids Sake, a community support group. His goal is to raise $2,000 to pay for the printing of four brochures on parenting, destined for libraries and other public locations.

“Jerry’s done most of the work,” said Susan Rigby, a member of the volunteers. “He’s gotten the news releases out, done the promotion, seen to the refreshments, and as the youngest member of the Chamber Theatre Ensemble, is responsible for the lighting on the show itself.”

The Chamber Theater Ensemble, headed by actor/director Danny Moreno, is a nonprofit company, performing benefits in Orange County communities.

In addition to distributing brochures, according to Rigby, For Kids Sake holds special programs in Orange County public schools wherever invited, including a preschool-through-fourth-grade program called “Color Me Safe.”

“Our biggest program is ‘Investigating Child Abuse.’ It’s used in police and social services, for instruction on the formulation and prosecution of child-abuse cases.”

Referring to Sunday night’s almost sold-out performance, Rigby added, “Jerry’s gone the whole nine yards to make sure this succeeds.”

A few tickets for “Don Juan in Hell” in the Brea Civic Cultural Center are still available for a donation of $10 each. For information, call (714) 529-8358 or (714) 990-3613.