Last night, the fourth annual Summer Hummer added $30,000 to theatreWashington's Taking Care of Our Own emergency fund for artists in need, exceeding last year's total by $12,000.
A bawdy, burlesque fundraiser directed by Signature Theatre's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer and choreographed by Associate Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner, Summer Hummer IV: Foreplay! put more than 100 dancers, actors, singers and musicians on the Signature stage for two marathon performances that ranged from stage favorites Bobby Smith and Evan Casey arguing over sexual positions in "You're The Top," to Donna Migliaccio relying on the ancient Kama Sutra as she sang "I Don't Know How to Love Him." Ticket income was enhanced by a scantily clad Bucket Brigade that solicited on-the-spot donations, and by some classic strip numbers that inspired a stream of one dollars bills to find their way into myriad forms of questionable clothing. theatreWashington Acting Executive Director Brad Watkins commented, "It's a perfect storm. You have absolutely the best performers and musicians from across the Washington area donating their time to rehearse and perform these jaw-dropping, hysterical, sexy numbers. And you have our deeply committed, theatre-savvy, generous audiences showing their support - all for this profoundly important initiative that we call Taking Care of Our Own. This year alone we've already distributed $22,366 to people in the theatre community who suddenly found themselves strapped, often because of medical emergencies. A night like this - there's nothing like it."Videos