It was a you-had-to-be-there evening.
Nearly 2 dozen of Staples’ best musicians spent tonight singing for Haiti. Offering numbers by Etta James, Billy Joel, the Beatles, The Tallest Man on Earth, “Wicked” and “Wizard of Oz,” they treated an SRO crowd at Sugar & Olives to a great night of entertainment — and all the proceeds went to earthquake relief.
Whitney Andrews channels Etta James.
This was a totally student-run fundraiser. They thought of the idea; they picked the songs; they rehearsed them; they booked the venue; they got the crowd; they got Channel 12 to cover it, and they exhorted everyone to contribute to an important cause.
I am always amazed at the number of demands placed on today’s teenagers. Besides academics — and many of today’s performers are in plenty of AP and honors courses — there are after-school activities (for this group, year-round commitments to Players and Orphenians — plus many others). They’ve got jobs; they volunteer; they prepare for SATs and ACTs; they take drivers ed; they have social lives.
No wonder they don’t have time to take out the garbage, or clean their rooms.
But they gave up a substantial part of today to raise money for people they’ve never met, in a country most have never been to.
And they did it with smiles on their faces, and songs in their hearts.
(Thanks and congratulations to tonight’s performers: Whitney Andrews, Kathryn Durkin, Eva Hendricks, Tyler Jent, August Laska, Robert Mathis, Grace McDavid, Peter Molesworth, Chris Nicoletti, Alexandra Rappaport, Sofia Ribolla, Max Samuels, Tori Schachne, Dan Shure, Max Stampa-Brown, Matt van Gessel, Charlotte Weber, Jake Yarmoff and Jamie Yarmoff).