New Year’s Bash Aiding Kids Is Ahead of Its Time

Who needs to wait until Dec. 31 to celebrate New Year’s Eve?

Not supporters of the Casa Youth Shelter.

They uncorked Chandon 2000, crooned “Auld Lang Syne” and watched balloons float to the floor during their NY2K Party on Saturday at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.

They even had a countdown . . . to 10 p.m. “Happy New Year!” they shouted two hours before the clock struck 12. “Happy New Year!”

“We wanted people to get into the spirit of midnight and still have two hours to party,” explained Debbie Tavlin, gala chairwoman.

It was Tavlin’s idea to scoop New Year’s Eve. “I thought it would be a blast to do Orange County’s first NY2K bash because you don’t always get to be with the people you love on New Year’s--and we’re family.”

Tavlin was on to something. Six hundred guests attended the black-tie affair that netted $200,000 for the Los Alamitos shelter’s operations fund.

After bidding on more than 500 auction items in one ballroom, guests swept into another to honor shelter founder Myldred E. Jones--who recently celebrated her 90th birthday--and dined on filet mignon and poached pears.

“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the new year,” shelter volunteer Jerry Stromberg said. “These are people who work very hard to support a great cause.”

The shelter for troubled youths has assisted 8,000 kids ages 12 to 18 since it was founded 21 years ago, executive director Luciann Maulhardt said.

The shelter will break ground for a 2,000-square-foot counseling center in November.

“Our new center will allow us to extend our outreach into the community,” Maulhardt said.

Said Richard Beaver, Casa board president: “More space means more help for more kids.”

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SCR Gala: Staged flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder signaled guests to take their seats at South Coast Repertory’s 21st annual gala Saturday night.

Held under the stars at the Isamu Noguchi California Scenario Sculpture Garden in Costa Mesa, the dramatic event drew more than 500 guests and netted more than $250,000 for the Tony-winning theater’s Annual Fund.

The “Play On . . . “-themed affair featured a cocktail reception in the garden’s Spirit of the Lima Bean area and dinner--Caesar salad, veal loin and poached pears--staged among boulders and meandering streams.

During the reception, guests watched actors portray vignettes from “The Birds,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “The Importance of Being Earnest” and “Tartuffe.”

After dinner was announced, they took their places at tables topped with clear vases filled with black bamboo and white orchids. Black Mexican river stones were used instead of traditional napkin rings.

“We wanted to stay away from the millennium theme,” said Teri Kennady, co-chair of the event with Elaine Weinberg. “In a few weeks, everybody’s calendar is going to be filled with events marking the new century. We decided to go very contemporary, very now.”

While delighted guests enjoyed the moment, SCR founding directors Martin Benson and David Emmes looked to the day when SCR’s new 320-seat theater is built. “In about five years, SCR will have a new theater equipped with the tools that could make it the leading [regional] theater in the country,” Emmes said.

Added Benson: “The physical limitations of our existing Second Stage--it’s really a converted rehearsal hall--keep us from producing plays that we’d like our Orange County audiences to see.

“With a new theater, we’ll be able to produce a large classic on our Mainstage and the world premiere of a new play that may demand multiple environments and technical effects.”

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Clubhouse Opening: With actors Kevin Costner and Robert Wagner on the guest list, the $19-million Clubhouse restaurant at South Coast Plaza will formally open Oct. 24 with a benefit for Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

If you’ve ever wanted to be a member of a tony club--and weren’t about to ante up the big bucks--the 18,000-square-foot Clubhouse is for you, says Keith Rudman, president of Clubhouse International. “We’ve taken the classic architecture and design details of the world’s finest clubs and put them into one environment. And we price the food and beverage so everyone can afford it, day in, day out.”

The good news for nonprofit organizations: “We give charities great breaks,” Rudman said. “We want to support the area--anybody who wants to have a benefit at the Clubhouse, we will go out of our way to take care of them.”

About 1,000 guests are expected to attend the grand opening benefit for CHOC. Guests will be invited to make a donation of $25 to attend. “The donation is not mandatory,” said a Clubhouse spokeswoman. “Clubhouse will add to the proceeds, guaranteeing CHOC a $20,000 donation on opening night.”