EcoLuxe Lounge Benefiting Shriners Hospital

Posted on by Diversions LA

Oscars 2016 week marked the annual arrival of producer Debbie Durkin’s EcoLuxe lounge. Held in the penthouse at the Beverly Hilton, the event helped to promote the new Shriners Hospital for Children medical center that will launch in Pasadena in 2017.

One of the fun things about living in Los Angeles are the award seasons, and with them the bevy of gifting suites, parties, and benefits. The EcoLuxe Lounge event is always packed with interesting products, tasty eats, and of course there were plenty of celebrity guests on hand from True Blood‘s Adina Porter to Lou “The Hulk” Ferrigno, Frank Stallone, and Claudia Wells, the Back to the Future actress who now owns a unique menswear boutique which was a part of the gifting suite.

Tasty hors d’oeuvres? Check. Fun eco-friendly finds? Check again. Terrific cause – yes, that, too.

Attendees enjoyed LaCroix Sparking Water as well as the beautiful Fete Today wine, whose Sirah is worthy of a fete in and of itself.

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My Fete reason was among the notes depicted above – guess which one and you’ll get a…mention in this blog.

Other gifters included IT Cosmetics, whose under-eye collagen enhancing cover-up really works.

eco luxe ITChariot Travelware luggage, Burnetie Shoes, and the beautiful unique and eco-friendly jewelry of Amy Radzik were also gifted. Radzik’s jewelry incorporates many recycled elements in unique pieces that help define the wearer’s personality. Radzik is a true craftswoman and jewelry artist.

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One of my favorite items was the Solar Puff, an inflatable solar light designed to benefit the Ten Million Rays of Light campaign while also providing a super cool white square that accents any room – and lights it in an eco-friendly way. Yes, I have one and I love the super bright very white light. High recommends.

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Celebrity sweet teeth were not forgotten: Candy Vixen dished out tasty treats like chocolate covered pretzels and chocolate covered organic apples.   candy vixen

Fun, fun, fun – celebrity sightings, tasty treats, cool products to check out, and – recognition for quality care for children at Shriner’s Hospital. Now that’s award-worthy.

  • Genie Davis, Photos provided by Debbie Durkin and product retailers

 

Closer than Ever – Musical Perfection at ICT Long Beach

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The International City Theatre in Long Beach is hosting a powerhouse of a musical through March 6th. And by musical, we mean all music, all the time.

There’s not a word of spoken dialog here, instead audiences find some twenty five story-songs composed by lyricist Richard Maltby Jr., with lush music by David Shire.  This off-Broadway classic is extremely well served by its vibrant and versatile cast members who combine strong voice with often heartbreaking emotion.

The stories these songs tell are of love – of life, of relationships -boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife, love lost, found, illicit, sexual, platonic, desired, and abandoned.

With no spoken dialog how does it work? Think vignettes, musical vignettes, think clear voices, spirited delivery, and a mix of the comic and the tragic. Highlights include the absolutely riveting tale of the loss of a marriage and the life of a liberated woman sung by Valerie Perri, “Life Story,” and the rageful, hilarious “You Wanna Be My Friend” sung by Katheryne Penny when she discovers her boyfriend just wants to be friends.

On the distaff side, the men in the cast are no musical slouches either. Kevin Bailey’s loving father/son tribute “If I Sing,” is also a heart-melter. Adam von Almen’s “One Of The Good Guys,” a tribute to fidelity and lost chances both, is also deeply moving.

And let’s not forget the music supporting these stand-out, indefatigable singers. Theater music director Gerald Sternbach on grand piano and Brad Babinski on bass.

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When viewing this production, we had no idea that the play was not an original production for ICT. The fact that it’s a classic piece of theater makes it no less vital – this “Closer than Ever” is “Fresher than Ever” thanks to its incredible cast and simply great score.

The International City Theatre is located in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach

  • Genie Davis; Photos by Tracey Roman

Dreamcatcher at the Fountain Theater

Posted on by Diversions LA
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The diminutive Fountain Theater may be small in size, but the performances and theme of its current offering, Dreamcatcher, are huge.
Written by Stephen Sachs, the theater’s artistic director, the play, running through March 31st, on the surface tells the story of Roy (Brian Tichnell) a passionate solar engineer bent on helping the environment, and Opal (Elizabeth Frances) the vibrant young Mojave woman with whom he’s having an affair. They find themselves at odds over the fact that Roy’s company is planning to build a massive solar energy project on ground that Opal has just discovered holds an ancient burial ground.
Beneath the surface of this dilemma is another: Opal may be pregnant, Roy may be married to someone else.
Taking place on a stage in the round that’s been transformed to a circle of desert that’s basically sand and rock, the sometimes steamy, always morally provocative dialog rockets the audience through the single act play constantly on edge. Who is right and who is wrong here? Are moral concerns to be put aside for the “greater good,” whether that is the ecology of the planet or the wife Roy left behind in Massachusetts? Are traditions, lives, past lives, animals, humans merely particles caught in a corporate machine, no matter how well-intentioned?  What is of value? An idea, a science, love, the hapless birds whose fiery deaths Roy jokes about having witnessed as they plummet into the heat of the solar panels?
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All of these questions simmer while Roy and Opal’s relationship boils over in a fight both physical and emotional, cathartic and heart-breaking. While the play may at times skim over the hard choices both the audience and the characters must make, the political, social, environmental, and moral choices and ambiguities are entirely relatable and extremely timely.
Take this one in – it’s the kind of tough, makes-you-think theater we need more of in a city of thoughtless celluloid super heroes.
The Fountain Theater is located at 5060 Fountain Ave. in Los Angeles.

 

 

 

Everything Came up Roses: Shriners Hospital Benefit Event

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Actresses Rose Abdoo and Kate Flannery attend Celebrities Decorate The Shriners Rose Parade Float – Shriners Hospitals for Children

Longtime charitable supporter and TV/Film product placement producer Debbie Durkin joined forces with Shriners Hospitals for Children in 2015, and began 2016 with support for this worthy organization as well  – in an event dedicated to decorating the Shriners Rose Parade Float.

Celebrities and media gathered for sandwiches from Bristol Farms, sweets from Smoked Fusion Catering, and a few lovely baubles and bangles provided by jewelry designer Amy Marie Radzik. Hosted by How2Girl Courtney Sixx, the event was also supported by Modern Oats, Phoenix Decorating Company and of course – Shriners volunteers.

Yes, this event took place over a month back, but its primary focus is more than relevant: according to Durkin, this is just one charitable effort focused on the Shriners this year. “We’re on a mission to raise awareness for the new Shriners for Children Medical Center launching in Pasadena in 2017,” Durkin relates. In short: there’s more fundraising, fun, and promotion for this extremely worth cause ahead.

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Above, actress Erin Murphy enjoys helping the float come together. 

Watch this space for more news, as everything should be coming up roses all year long to help this new medical center provide cutting edge technology and healthcare for children and families throughout the Southland.

  • Genie Davis
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