Manilow is icing on the cake for gala

A truly once-in-a-lifetime gala event took place at the McCallum Theatre Thursday night with exactly 1,127 guests taking part. That's the number of seats in the theater.

The gala sprang from a 3-year-old fundraiser with a simple formula: A deluxe dinner-and-concert package, priced from $450 to $1,000 per person, including an exquisite gourmet dinner at one of four exclusive, nearby restaurants, followed by a headliner concert at the theater.

Last year's headliner was the Boston Pops, this year it was Barry Manilow, who created a 90-minute "Home For The Holidays" concert just for this one-night event, bringing his entire Las Vegas orchestra and production crew with him.

After a leisurely dinner at either Cuistot, Jillian's, Le St. Germain or Wally's, four caravans of Rolls, Jags, Lexuses and BMWs made the short drive to the McCallum for the concert - plus lively conversations about who ate where and which dessert was the most heavenly.

"Manilow was the magic ingredient," said manager of special events Judi Pofsky. "The 500 concert-only tickets ($75 to $100) sold out weeks ago and the 625 deluxe-dining packages sold out last week. We could have sold twice as many of each."

Event co-chairs and major sponsors Jim and Jackie Lee Houston dined at Cuistot's, where they praised the sea bass entree as well as all four of the participating restaurants, saying, "They don't get enough credit for all they do."

Manilow delighted his adoring local audience by saying, "I see so many familiar faces out there. I think I know all of you."

His performance mixed all-time favorites like "Mandy," "I Write the Songs," "Can't Smile Without You" with holiday standards like "Home for the Holidays" and "Jingle Bells." Encountering a little trouble whistling the intro to "Can't Smile Without You," Manilow quipped, "They shouldn't have Botox-ed my tongue."

Manilow's close friend Suzanne Somers made a surprise appearance, performing Barry's special arrangement of "Santa Baby," and joked with him about their friendship of more than 20 years.

McCallum board chairwoman Isabel Bigley Barnett, a Tony-award winning actress, said of Manilow, "I've been a fan of his since the very beginning and he hasn't changed. He is so giving and knows who he really is."

Most of the theater's 56 board members were unanimous in saying the theater is poised for a spurt of growth. "Virtually all the shows from September through December were sell-outs," said board official Harold Matzner. "The need for growth seems obvious."

Jackie Lee Houston said a long-range growth plan should probably include a smaller 300-seat "black box" theater, and eventually a 2,500-seat presentation theater.

Board members were also unanimous in praising the theater's president and CEO, Ted Giatas. Bigley-Barnett said, "This talk of growth is wonderful, but it would not be happening without the leadership Ted Giatas brought to the theater."

Houston said, "This theater is blessed with one of the finest management-employee-volunteer teams in North America."

Giatas said his hopes for the theater will be revealed early next year but, on Thursday, he simply wanted to savor the success of this event. "It has surpassed, by far, anything we have ever done before," he beamed, saying the estimated net funding of more than $750,000 will support theater operations and arts-education for over 34,000 local children. There was also a surprise announcement of a recent $5 million pledge from the Houstons for future growth.

For information on next year's gala, phone 346-6505, Ext. 126.