Short Takes: Comedian Martin Short and all his alter egos performed to a thrilled crowd at the Pabst Theater. The event was the third “Laugh It Up Milwaukee,” this year benefiting the MACC Fund. Put on by the Bayshore Community Foundation and the Harry and Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center (JCC), Vince Vitrano from Today’s TMJ4 was a delightful emcee with JCC Executive Director Mark Shapiro adding additional levity. Audience participants included a good-natured Mayor Tom Barrett and David Moss, Bayshore Town Center’s GM, who carried Short off the stage in one skit.
Sponsors, board members and their guests gathered at a pre-show reception in the InterContinental Milwaukee. From the JCC were Shapiro and his wife, Sharon, Chad Tessmer, Sarah Ruiz, Rabbi Shari and Corey Shamah, Micki Seinfeld and Jody Margolis and her doctor husband, David. He is on the board, along with Alicia Sadoff, there with her husband, Bryan. Also partying were MACC Fund Executive Director John Cary and his wife, Mary, Kapco’s Neil Willenson and his wife, Adria, plus Debra Katz.
Celebrating Cebar: After six years, Milwaukee music icon Paul Cebar is releasing a new CD, Fine Rude Thing. Prior to an upcoming two-week Eastern tour, Cebar performed at Turner Hall and made the media rounds, including a live Radio Milwaukee broadcast in its studios for the Thursday afternoon “414 Music” show. Hosted by Ken Sumka, the station’s newest on-air personality, Cebar’s riffs were backed by pals Bob Jennings, Mike Fredrickson and Reggie Bordeaux.
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PR wiz Jeff Bentoff was there with an article he’d written in 1988 about Cebar. Enjoying the show from HGA were d’Andre Willis and Lyssa Olker, architect and lead designer of the new broadcast facility; CD Creative’s Ignacio and Susan Catral; music man David Silbaugh; Realtor Cathy Zeiler and pals Linda and Eric Anderson; and videographer Josh Adams.
Pot O’ Gold: The opening night of the Rep’s End of the Rainbow featured a poignant performance by Chicago actress Hollis Resnik channeling Judy Garland. Afterwards, fans gathered in the Quadracci Powerhouse lobby, raving about the show. Among them were Rep board members Patrick Smith and Ed Seaberg, associate producers of the show, plus Wendy Blumenthal and her husband, Warren, and the DPW’s Cecilia Gilbert.
Representing the Rep were Artistic Director Mark Clements and his wife, Kelley Faulkner, with their fellow Brit pals, Pilates teacher Jayne Pink and her husband, Milwaukee Ballet maestro Michael Pink; Managing Director Chad Bauman; and Public Relations Director Cindy Moran. Other audience members included Eve Hall, Stacy and Blair Williams, Fox 6 News’ Laura Langemo and MPTV host John McGivern. Rainbow playwright Peter Quilter and Felix Medina also flew in to catch the show.
Burgers N’ Buns: Hamburger Mary’s charity HamBINGO is so popular, the restaurant now offers it each Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. Hosted by the ever-amusing Dear Ruthie, a different charity is the weekly beneficiary. B&D stopped by for a delightful evening to benefit the Boulevard Theatre.
The theater’s tireless leader, Mark Bucher, was madly selling “split the pot” raffle tickets, the grand prize of more than $600 shared with Jodie Wilke, also one of the 10 bingo winners, along with Jess Leeder, Karen Burns, Dana Phillips, Kelly Ranzen and Monica Staubach.
Boulevard actors Donna and Don Lobacz helped, while photographer Troy Freund captured the evening’s antics. Boulevard board members Mary Buchel, Tom Gauthier, Jeff Montoya and Jeneen Perkins, plus Marquette’s Katie Tarara, Sue Brewer and Dr. Richard Stone played the games.
Booking It: The Peoples Park restaurant in Waukesha overflowed with diners downstairs and a mob upstairs, eager to meet William Taylor and hear about his new book, A Shooting Star Meets the Well of Death, the story of adventurer Richard Halliburton. Taylor is the father of the restaurant’s owners, Dan and Bill Taylor. Other Taylors there were William’s wife, Rosie, and Bill’s wife, Susie. Waukesha Mayor Jeff Scrima posed with Taylor for pictures.
Book fans included Hanging Gardens owner John Lottes, Irish-born Marcella Mingey, Georgia Cain and Amy and Jim Wenzler. Susan Raasch O’Brien was in town to surprise her brother, Ron Raasch, at his 60th birthday party. After chatting, Jack Eigel hurried off to the Fred Astaire studios, prepping for his dancing debut at the National Kidney Foundation of Wisconsin’s Spotlight On Life. Norm Bruce from Martha Merrell’s Books did a brisk business peddling Shooting Star.
Bay Beat: The Bay Restaurant on Silver Spring was jammed with diners and fans of Victor DeLorenzo, performing with fellow drummer Scott Johnson and cellist/composer Janet Schiff as Nineteen Thirteen. DeLorenzo had earlier been at the funeral of musician/poet/Harley historian Martin Jack Rosenblum, where he read Rosenblum’s poem “The Logs.”
In the audience were actors Deborah Clifton and John Kishline, both heading to Iowa for a performance of Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell with Theatre Gigante. Kishline is also playing an Irish mob boss in NBC’s “Chicago PD,” airing in February. Circulating was Bay boss James McMahon.
If you have any tips for Boris and Doris, contact them at borisanddorisott@aol.com. Their next column will appear in the Feb. 6 issue of the Shepherd.
