Short, Sweet and Starry
The event: “An Evening Under the Stars With Bobby Short,” a benefit concert that brought the veteran cabaret performer from his usual digs at New York’s Cafe Carlyle to the courtyard at Fashion Island Newport Beach. Short’s rare West Coast appearance Saturday benefited the YWCA South Orange County’s Hotel for Women.
Bite of the Big Apple: For the preconcert dinner, members of the International Interior Design Assn. turned an empty warehouse into a replica of the Cafe Carlyle.
Designers decorated tables using themes from Short’s signature songs. For example, inspired by “Our Love Is Here to Stay,” designers Marlene Madsen and Joan Speaker transformed their table into a romantic oasis with cream-colored swags, cherub centerpieces and white roses.
“People love the Carlyle because of the nostalgia of it. It’s intimate and lovely inside, and that’s what we tried to do here,” Madsen said.
About 165 guests were greeted by a doorman in uniform before strolling down a red carpet into the make-believe cafe, where they enjoyed a grilled herb chicken dinner.
Guess who’s in town: Seated in the courtyard before a baby grand piano and wearing a tuxedo--without socks--the charming Short, with jazz bassist Frank Tate and drummer Klaus Suonsaari, performed a repertoire of what Short called “these ancient songs I keep digging up,” including tunes by the Gershwins, Duke Ellington and Cole Porter.
Between songs, Short told the crowd that he was happy to be in a place “where it’s warm, balmy, clean and bright.”
Quote: “The [YWCA] hotel is a place where homeless or battered women can spend a few months to get on their feet,” said Kathleen Davis Bowman, executive director of the South Orange County YWCA. “We’re really trying to work on the whole woman, so when she leaves she’ll not only have a job but everything she needs to be independent.”
Faces: Event chairwoman Eileen Ina Klein; emcee Rich Capparela; County Supervisor Thomas W. Wilson, honorary chairman; U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove); Mary Barrett Blake, the Y’s director of development, who dreamed up the “Evening Under the Stars” theme; Emma Jane Riley; Fran Williams; Fred Martin; Frank Michelena; Dave Thomas; Eileen Padberg; Lynne Spencer; Jim Fallon; Trudy White; Killeen Anderson; Kathy Pearson; Mary Peters; and Pam Stovall.
Bottom line: Guests paid $45 to attend the concert or $150 for the black-tie dinner, preconcert reception at the Bloomingdale’s Home Store and a post-concert champagne reception.
The benefit was expected to net more than $40,000 for the Y’s hotel, which provides shelter, meals, clothing, job counseling and other services for homeless women. The 30-bed hotel, based in Santa Ana, serves women throughout the county.
What’s ahead: The South Orange County YWCA will join in the Y’s nationwide Week Without Violence campaign Oct. 19-25. For information, call the YWCA office: (714) 542-3577.