Michael Leavitt, executive producer of Fox Theatricals, has two prosperous plays on his hands at the moment, “Lend Me a Tenor” and “Lost in Yonkers.” Monday night at the Apollo Theater, though, he staged perhaps his most rewarding effort.
“Lend Me a Hand,” a special-guest-filled spoof of his current hits, played to a packed house in a benefit performance for two AIDS organizations: Season of Concern, the Chicago theater community’s fundraising agency, and Chicago House, a provider of housing and case management for people living with the disease.
Proceeds from the event, from the $25- to $100-a-ticket show, including a raffle and live auction that followed the80-minute performance, were more than $40,000.
“I couldn’t be more satisfied. Not just with the money we raised, but with the participation of so many individuals who have contributed,” Leavitt said. “The cast and crews from both the `Tenor’ and `Yonkers’ productions volunteered to work on this show. They wanted to make a difference.”
“And we’re fortunate so many celebrities have been willing to contribute to make this work as well.”
Jamie Baron, one of the parody’s scriptwriters, put it another way: “It’s great so many media celebrities were willing to turn out and make fools of themselves. And each other. It’s sort of `The Front Page’ with a grudge.”
Among the media types taking their potshots were WBBM-TV’s Walter Jacobson (who went undercover as a bellboy this time), and WLS-TV’s Janet Davies and WMAQ-TV’s Norman Mark, who delighted in zeroing in on each other’s hair. She had too much, he not enough.
Others sharing the stage with host Roy Leonard of WGN-TV and radio were: “Tenor” star Jamie Farr and Chicago Bears Shaun Gayle and Keith Van Horne, the Sun-Times’ Bill Zwecker, the Reader’s Lewis Lazare, the Tribune’s Kathy O’Malley and actor Tom Amandes, Eliot Ness on “The Untouchables” TV show.
“I’ve had friends who have benefited from Chicago House,” Amandes said backstage before the show. “And being from the theater community here, I know we’ve lost a lot to this disease. If there’s anything I can do to help, I will. Living with dignity is important.”
