Smoke Signals
Picture it: a bevy of heart specialists boogieing to Billy Bob Thornton belting out “Smokin’ in Bed.” It happened at the American Heart Assn.’s inaugural “Paint the Town Red” awards gala.
Apologizing in advance, the actor-musician told guests as he stood onstage with his band at the Beverly Hilton Hotel: “I know there are a lot of doctors here tonight--but I did write a song about pot. I’m sorry. It’s a tribute to my old buddies who used to lie around and watch cartoons.”
The star’s gratis rock-and-blues gig capped a July 27 benefit gala that was as off-the-wall as it was profitable. Guests, who were also entertained by mind readers, dancing dragons, acrobats and a woman balancing fresh eggs on her nose, helped raise more than $200,000 for the association’s research, education and advocacy programs.
Minutes before Thornton’s performance, Jeffrey Wigand--the former executive whose revelations about the tobacco industry resulted in a $246-billion litigation settlement with the government and inspired the film “The Insider”--stood on the same stage to receive the association’s Hero of the Year Award.
“So many people paved the pathway for me to accept this award--lawyers, students, doctors, my own children,” Wigand said. “To them, I owe a debt of gratitude.” He urged the 500 guests to remain vigilant about protecting people from the diseases that “start with a cigarette and take 430,000 lives each year.”
Each day, “3,000 children start to smoke,” added Wigand, whose Smoke-Free Kids foundation seeks to prevent children from becoming addicted to nicotine. During the cocktail reception, Wigand observed that the average age today for beginning smokers “is between 11 and 12 years. This is truly a childhood disease,” he said.
The gala featured a delectable yet heart-healthy menu--coconut chicken soup, grilled chicken breast, red-bean mousse and mango pudding--and a program that also handed out awards for excellence to Ronald Karlsberg (cardiovascular clinical research), Debra Judelson (women’s cardiovascular education), Hillel Laks (cardiological surgical advancement), Esai Morales (public education and health awareness) and Melissa Havard (public health).
“Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the Western world,” said Robert Roberts, chief of cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. “We clearly have a lot of work to do.”
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Drama Alfresco
Theater under the stars was on the bill for spectators attending the opening-night performance of South Coast Repertory’s “California Scenarios.”
The collection of five short plays written by prominent Latino playwrights is staged in the Isamu Noguchi Sculpture Garden in Costa Mesa. Featured are works by Luis Alfaro, Joann Farias, Anne Garcia-Romero, Jose Cruz Gonzalez and Richard Coca.
Introduced last season as part of the South Coast’s Hispanic Playwrights Project, the production directed by Juliette Carrillo returned with four of its original plays. Coca’s “The Hanging of Josefa” marked its premiere.
The works are performed in areas of the garden inspired by California’s varied landscape: urban, desert, waterway, forest, meadow.
“The plays represent a melding of the art of the sculptor [Noguchi] with the art of the playwright,” said theater director Martin Benson.
“They help explain in an artistic way the experience Latinos have had in the California culture.”
Guests, who were handed folding chairs when they arrived, were invited to move to different areas of the lighted garden as the plays were performed by a repertory of eight actors. A post-production reception July 27 provided theatergoers with the opportunity to chat with the playwrights.
Coca based his play on the “first woman to be hanged in modern California history,” he said. “Josefa was hanged in 1851 because she killed a miner who insulted her honor in public.”
A sixth-generation Californian, Coca said he hopes his play will provoke audiences to reflect on their prejudices. “This work poses the question, ‘What are my views about race and where do they come from?’ ”
“California Scenarios” concludes today with an 8 p.m. performance. For information, call (714) 708-5555.
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Coming Up:
Los Angeles Magazine presents the Best of L.A. gourmet fest Wednesday to benefit the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on the museum plaza. Advance tickets are $100; $125 at the door. Call (323) 801-0051.
Actor and cowboy Glynn Turman will be honored at a reception kicking off the Black Cowboy Film Festival on Friday at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum. Tickets are $25. Call (323) 737-3292.
The Muscular Dystrophy Assn.’s Myotonic Dystrophy Assistance and Awareness support group will honor physician Harding Young at a benefit Saturday at the Westin Long Beach Hotel. Tickets are $100. Call (562) 498-4923.
The Speech and Language Development Center of Buena Park will present a fine wine charity auction and dance Aug. 11 at Antonello Ristorante in Santa Ana. Tickets are $150. Call (714) 836-5700.
Information for Social Circuits can be directed to Ann Conway at ann.conway@latimes.com or (800) LA-TIMES, Ext. 65952.