Were you there?

Man, what a great night on Sunday. A wonderful crowd of people cheered on a great slate of performers at the Commonwealth Coalition Benefit at the Barksdale. I was very proud of my girls who sang “Castle on a Cloud” very sweetly and with only the slightest shakiness at the beginning. It was a very special 45 seconds for me and I think they got a big charge out of it. It’s hard to pick out the highlights from the rest of the night since it was all amazing. Jacquie O and Derek Phipps did the “I Can Live With That” scene from “I Love You, You’re Perfect, etc/” that always makes me tear up. It’s so sweet and funny and they both do such a great job with their characters. I especially liked it that my widowed mom (who was there with another widowed friend) was able to see that scene.

Debra Wagoner was astounding as usual, the singer/songwriter Kim Alexander rocked the house, and modern dance troupe Amaranth was mesmerizing. Scott Wichmann’s scene from “I Am My Own Wife” was particularly poignant. And the boys singing “Were You There?” sounded great on a song that managed to be sweet, funny, and significant all at the same time. It was an enchanting evening and if the energy from that one night could be loosed upon the Commonwealth at large I’m sure it would have the power to convince the un- or misinformed people who still plan on voting in support of the asinine Marshall/Newman Amendment.