Curtain Call (formerly Curtain Call for a Cause), the yearly fundraiser for Arkansas Enterprises for the Developmentally Disabled, returned to a limited in-person format for its one show June 3 at North Little Rock’s Argenta Community Theater. The event was a celebration of Curtain Call’s 10-year run as well as the 50th anniversary of AEDD.
While virtual attendees picked up their meals and watched online, regular guests posed for photos on the red carpet outside the theater and, during the social hour, mingled, sipped libations and bid on silent auction items. The Premier Auction was open only to in-person guests.
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The sit-down dinner, served by AEDD Auxiliary members, featured boxed appetizers and salads served prior to the succulent beef dinner provided by Catering to You. Pre-show remarks and features included a special appeal to donate to AEDD’s “$50K for 50 Years” campaign.
Due to continuing covid-19 precautions, the AEDD consumers who make up the ACTS in the Rock performing troupe did not put on an opening skit this year. But they were remembered via video, and the show — themed “Thanks for the Memories” and produced by Vincent Insalaco and Christen Pitts — didn’t disappoint.
Members of Untapped, the tap-dancing troupe that’s been a longtime Curtain Call act, returned for some fancy footwork. The audience was also treated to an “Italian Star Spangled Banner” piano performance by Dr. Alan Storeygard; the singing of “(Somewhere) Over the Rainbow” by Grace Pitts and “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” by Jessica Mylonas; Mariah Patterson’s performance of “If They Could See Me Now,” Daniel Collier’s Sinatra-competing rendition of “New York New York”; Jimmy Clark’s “That’s Entertainment”; Drew Jansen’s “Carpenter’s Arrangement” and Karen Clark’s lively “Glitter and Be Gay.” All performers gathered to conclude the show by singing “What I Did for Love.”
— Story and photos by Helaine R. Williams
