Photo Credit: Mark Frohna
It’s the 60th anniversary of Skylight Music Theatre and like much of our world today, this special event is going “virtual.” The annual fundraiser, “Skylight Sings: A Virtual Concert,” begins at 7 p.m., Thursday May 21. And in place of the originally scheduled May 14 event crowd gathering at the Cabot Theatre? Your nearest mobile device—and a current season donation of $100. Or, the chance to become a new donor.
In return, Skylight Artistic Director Michael Unger has assembled a vast array of veteran performers of local and national repute to celebrate and commemorate 60 years of memorable Skylight shows, songs and performances. Among the many celebrants are two-time Tony Award nominee Kate Baldwin, a Shorewood native who now makes the Big Apple and Broadway her “home away from home.” Dennis DeYoung of the classic rock band Styx will perform and be interviewed during the event. His musical adaptation of Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame is scheduled to be part of Skylight's 2020-2021 season.
But there are many other well-known Skylight veterans, such as former Skylight Artistic Director Ray Jivoff, performing on their virtual “stages,” some in recognizable roles. “We generally collaborate with the artists about what they want to sing,” Unger explains. “We love it when our performers love their material. But there may be some thematic numbers we would want to include so we would find the performer who matches that material. Overall, we want the evening to be inspiring and uplifting.”
And the goal, financially, is to “inspire and uplift” as well, given that all proceeds benefit Skylight, all the more needed in this Age of Pandemic. As it’s the 60th anniversary, the goal is $60,000. And in the case of this virtual benefit, “more” means definitely “much more” given the lack of in-person bidding during a live or silent auction to keep the momentum going. “I know that when my wife and I bought a Persian carpet at an auction, we got carried away and spent far more than we would have had we just walked into a store on our own,” he recalls, adding “So, jump up and down. Remember nobody’s watching.”
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But the hope is that many donors and supports will be watching as “Skylight Sings” together as one theatrical community while we socially distance apart. To borrow liberally, “the show” virtual or otherwise, “will go on” including the new upcoming 2020/2021 season.
“The words that grace the ceiling of the Cabot Theatre speak of ‘refreshing the dry places in our spirit.’ I firmly believe that even though our landmark 60th year did not end the way we planned, and my ‘first”’ season (20/21) will not start the way I intended we are preparing to offer a fabulous season,” Unger emphasizes. “Milwaukee audiences will be even more thirsty than ever to refresh the dry places in their spirits. We promise to be a deep well from which they can draw songs, stories, and solace.”
To become a Skylight donor and gain access to “Skylight Sings: A Virtual Concert,” visit www.skylightmusictheatre.org and click the “Donate” button or text the word Skylight to 56512 and donate via mobile device.
