Malibu Stage Company’s fourth annual fundraiser promises plenty of acting, singing and magic.
By Michael Aushenker / Special to The Malibu Times
It’s as close as Malibu Stage Company (MSC) comes to being formal.
Sunday evening at 5 p.m., the fourth annual “No Applause–Just Throw Money” benefit, a cheeky title for a cheeky troupe of actors, will lace scenes from various plays in anticipation of the coming MSC theater season following a pre-show dinner and dessert spread.
The fundraiser, unfolding in a two-act production of songs and seven-minute scenes performed by the company’s actors, will consist of mostly comedy this year. In addition to the thespians, Malibu High School’s own Kristen Lambert, a renowned magician, will perform some tricks while Savory restaurant’s resident crooner Jacqueline Hylton will perform a Billie Holiday set.
Last year’s “No Applause” fundraiser netted $4,000 for the theatre. This year MSC artistic director Richard Johnson hopes to sell out the 100 tickets in the theater to net a total of $10,000. To keep costs down, actors will donate food out of their own pockets.
According to Catherine Dao, a seasoned actress with the company, the property MSC rents for its space will soon be sold.
“It would be great for our theater to get enough funds to buy the property,” Dao said, “and secure the future of this wonderful place where kids and adults can come for the pure art, whether it’d be a play, musical, concert or the lobby exhibits.”
“Our property is for sale,” Johnson confirmed, “and we do hope to have someone step up and buy it to secure the future of our current location. The owner of the building, Mr. Clark Cowan, is willing to make allowances to facilitate this.”
Dao does not want to see Malibu lose this cultural treasure.
“We are one big happy, supportive family at this theater,” she said. “New talents can come. For a nominal fee, they can learn from Rick [Johnson], who is amazingly generous with his time.”
Currently in rehearsals with her musician spouse, David Lamont, Dao plans to sing her own version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” with her husband of 13 years on piano. She promises a rendition in the style of her two favorites, the Malibuite Barbra Streisand and the late Whitney Houston.
As a Chinese-American who is married to a Jewish-American, Dao appreciates the unselfconscious diversity at play within MSC.
“It’s a place where there is true colorblind, even age-blind casting,’ Dao said. ‘I got to play the lead in ‘Proof’ with an ethnically mixed cast. It’s a family drama where biology is important. This is not done in Hollywood, not in this untainted manner, with no attached motivations.”
She credits Johnson, who she says is “practically a behind-the-scenes one-man show on many past productions. He was the main driving force to move a lot of tasks forward.”
Unfortunately, Johnson suffered a debilitating back injury after a diving accident sustained over the July 4 holiday in Arizona. While he is expected to fully recover by September, the injury will prevent him from taking as active a part in executing the fundraiser than in years previous.
“When Rick was injured, he asked me to help direct some of the scenes,” said MSC contributor Claudia Zahn, “and, of course, I said yes. I’m a frequent visitor to Malibu; I have family here and often come for a few months in the summer.”
Zahn’s sister, longtime City Councilwoman Laura Rosenthal, presently serves as Malibu’s mayor. Zahn has plenty of experience in theater, working as a freelance director of theatre and opera and as a former head of music theatre and opera at the University of Washington.
At press time, Zahn was in rehearsals, directing a short play called “The Surprise”, a scene from the 1920s called “Undertow” by Eulalie Spence, and a few musical pieces. While Zahn is purposely cagey, there is also some uncertainty.
“There are a number of scenes that I’m not sure will make the cut,” she said. “The challenges are many: getting everything and everyone together, juggling lots of different schedules to accommodate rehearsals, finding the best material for the best actors, dealing with technical issues; everything it takes to put on a good evening of theater.”
Dao appreciates having MSC in her midst. She hopes that this program, plus a Sept. 12 Dick Van Dyke benefit performance at Pepperdine University, will go towards cementing the company’s home near PCH and Heathercliff.
“As we take focus away from art in our public schools,” she said, “it becomes more crucial for each community to keep educating and broadening the minds of our young ones. Even Einstein said, ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge.’ Malibu Stage Repertory is definitely such a place where creativity is explored and exercised. We humans need this. It is absolutely necessary for us to continue to exist.”
Tickets: $100. Order online at www.brownpapertickets.com or by calling the MSC box office at 310-589-1998. MSC’s new season opens on Sept. 7th with “Art” by Yasmina Riza.
Tax deductible donations can also be made by calling MSC’s box office.