O.C. Gets Streisand, but Its Charities Won’t See Proceeds

First, Las Vegas. Then London, Washington, Detroit. And then Barbra Streisand brings her platinum pipes to Orange County--you know, that 31-city enclave that’s part of L.A.

Yup. That’s the way Streisand’s assistants saw it when they divvied up the prime seats--as many as 500 per night--that will benefit Los Angeles charities at her six concerts May 25 through June 4 at the Pond in Anaheim.

Why not Orange County charities? “Those charities are benefiting Orange County,” says a Streisand spokesman. “Orange County is part of L.A.”

Hello? The designated charities--Natural Resources Defense Council/Pesticide Campaign; Alliance for Children’s Rights; Girls’ Voices Women’s Lives; Legal Aid Foundation; Operation USA/LA Earthquake Relief, and United Friends of the Children--are all in the City of Angels. And that’s where the proceeds will stay.

Talk about a snub. Talk about an identity crisis. When are they going to figure it out?

Orange County has its own world-renowned arts venue, Segerstrom Hall; its own Tony Award-winning theater, South Coast Repertory; its own world-class retail shopping mecca, South Coast Plaza.

And what about its world-class hotels, restaurants and some of the priciest coastal property this side of Monte Carlo? What about the marble-paved Pond (which Streisand chose over the Los Angeles Forum) that houses Orange County’s own red-hot hockey team?

Not to mention the slew of nonprofits here that might have sold those $1,000-per-person concert tickets (which the charities bought for $350 each).

“It does seem a little strange (that local charities weren’t offered tickets to sell), because a good portion of the audience is certain to be from here,” says Tom Tomlinson, executive director of the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa.

The allocation of charity tickets is “exciting and thrilling and somewhat disappointing, because you can’t say yes to everybody,” says a spokesman for Streisand.

“The problem is, the project came together rather quickly. Ms. Streisand was very anguished to find out how much money scalpers charged for her Las Vegas concert. She was afraid it would happen here. Giving tickets to charities takes a lot of tickets out of the hands of scalpers.”

No one would criticize Streisand’s efforts on behalf of charitable causes. Her Barbra Streisand Foundation, which she founded seven years ago, has doled out $7.5 million to charity. “She’s especially concerned about AIDS and children and women at risk,” says a spokesman. “And she is very much involved in ameliorating Black-Jewish relations and Jewish-Arab relations. She has a wide list of compassions.”

Locals just wish her organization had taken a closer look at Orange County’s charity landscape.

Says Ken Goldman, outgoing development director for the Pacific Symphony: “I think Ms. Streisand is an artist who is very much an important person in this world and can pretty much do whatever she wants.

“But it would be nice, in the future, if she does this in other communities, to at least include a charity from the community where she is appearing.”

Both Tomlinson and Goldman think the way to energize sales for the charity concert tickets (which are going slowly, according to reports) would be to offer more activity for the dollar--a preconcert supper, perhaps, or a post-concert party.

“Most of our fund-raisers don’t begin to approach that kind of ticket dollar . . . and, even then, usually include other activities like a dinner or a party,” Tomlinson says.

Goldman, who has helped orchestrate hundreds of concert-related parties, has found that art patrons, especially, want more for their benefit dollar.

“For some charity events, the cause is enough,” he says. “Especially when it is a benefit for a disease such as AIDS or a cause like battered women. (At those events) people aren’t so much concerned with the details of the event as they are with supporting the cause.

“With the arts, however--because it is the arts--there seems to be a need for more of an entertainment factor in selling the event.”

Preconcert parties are successful because they get the evening off to an exciting start. But post-concert parties (especially those attended by the entertainer) are the most popular, Goldman says. “Then, there’s so much to see, talk about.”

Building a benefit around a Streisand concert in 1994 is a charity’s dream, Goldman says. “A Streisand concert is probably the most desirable one you could imagine. Not only is she a great star, she hasn’t really been around for 20 years in public. There is a tremendous pent-up demand to see her.

“Maybe it wouldn’t have been a slam-dunk to sell tickets at that price, but it would have been great to try.”