Mister Tanner

Over 380 guests attended The Old Globe's 2014 Gala, "Summer Splendor," on July 26 on the Globe's historic campus in Balboa Park. When final proceeds and expenses are tallied, the black-tie event is expected to net more than $1 million for the theatre's artistic and educational activities. Nina Doede, Deni Jacobs, and Sheryl White served as Co-Chairs for the Globe Gala, and lead underwriters for the evening were Audrey Geisel, Darlene Marcos Shiley, Conrad Prebys and Debra Turner, and Sheryl and Harvey White, with many other guests making generous gifts.

Beautiful actress/singer Laura Benanti, Tony Award winner for Gypsy, performed at 54 Below in New York during 2013, and the live concert was recorded on Broadway Records. To celebrate the release of the CD entitled In Constant Search of the Right Kind of Attention, Chris Isaacson Presents booked Benanti into the Catalina Bar & Grill on Thursday January 9, and the show immediately sold out. As a result, an additional concert was scheduled for Wednesday January 8, which also sold out. Why such a fuss over Laura Benanti, you may ask? The answer is simple. Apart from the fact that this is her Los Angeles debut, let's add that like Audra McDonald, Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, this lady is a sensational singer with an incomparable range, and as the title of the album suggests, she is totally worthy of the highest form of attention. In her 75-minute set, which included just about every song on the album, she also proved what a winning charm and sense of humor she possesses! Like Patti LuPone before her, Laura Benanti has a precious wit that can only be experienced to its fullest in this kind of environment, namely a cabaret setting. She let her hair down and she was...GREAT! Outstanding musicians Kevin Axt was on bass, Ray Brinker on drums, Andrew Synowiec on guitar and virtuoso musical arranger and director Todd Almond also dueted with Benanti a couple of times during the set on pieces he had arranged or composed.