RSVP/ORANGE COUNTY : Friends Help Theater for a Song

Music filled the air Sunday at Gustaf Anders restaurant during an afternoon fund-raising party for the Orange County Black Actors Theatre. While singers entertained with pop tunes and selections from “Eubie,” “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” and “Sophisticated Ladies,” an overbooked crowd of 200 dug into an all-star buffet and chitchatted like long-lost friends. This party was one from the heart.

The Show

This is a restaurant, right? A plates-clanking, blender-churning, waiters-circling kind of environment. Not to mention the loud talk and louder laughter. Through it all, a playful combo--Richard Abraham on piano, David Smith on sax, Steve Bowie on drums--spun a backdrop rife with musical dialogue and in-jokes.

Singers Michael Larche, Tina Jackson and Henry Weaver had their inspiring moments at the microphone. But it was Debbi Ebert who silenced the blender and got every head in the house turned her way.

Beginning with a jazzy “On a Clear Day,” Ebert moved on to Billie Holiday standards (Ebert stars in the BAT production of “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill,” beginning today at the South Coast Repertory Second Stage).

She also sang a bluesy “Happy Birthday” to Jerry Hunter, husband of Adleane Hunter, founder and producing artistic director of Black Actors Theatre. It included the verse: “Some folks like birthday cake/Some folks think that’s cute/But all I want, baby/Is to see you in your birthday suit.”

Seated at the bar, Jerry Hunter hid his blushing face in his hands.

The Business

The Santa Ana-based Black Actors Theatre is muddling through negotiations with the city to ready its new performing space on 4th Street. The eight months they’ve devoted to the project so far--that’s eight months without a stage to stand on--have taken a toll.

“This is a hard time for us,” admitted Adleane Hunter. “This is the first time in our nine years that we’ve been in a debt situation. We can’t really plan anything until we get the paperwork straightened out with the city . . . and then we’ll need $30,000 to $50,000 to renovate the space.”

That said, Hunter took in the good news at the the chic restaurant--where longtime supporters of her struggling theater group mingled with BAT’s brand-new friends.

The party was co-hosted by Gustaf Anders and the Santa Ana Council of Arts and Culture. Don Cribb, president of the 21-member arts group, said Hunter’s group was the first beneficiary of the Council’s fund-raising efforts.

“Black Actors Theatre is particularly important to us because we want to emphasize multiculturalism as part of our vision for arts in Santa Ana and throughout the county,” said Cribb.

Mondo Buffet

For $20, guests could help themselves to salmon, dill herring, homemade sausages, mini-burgers and beef stew. Caesar and tomato goat cheese salads were on display, with a selection of imported cheeses. The dessert buffet was stacked with slices of chocolate pecan torte and mounds of fresh strawberries.

Television and stage actress Jonelle Allen kept the show rolling as emcee--introducing singers, pitching for donations, hyping the bidding for a signed David Hockney poster.

Between emcee duties, Allen said she had first called Hunter about joining the theater group two years ago but then got too busy with her career to follow through.

“This is my first involvement, and I’m just thrilled ,” Allen enthused. “I’m being a little bit generous and a little mercenary, too. I want them to do well because I want to do something in one of their shows!”