April 26, 2008

Jersey Boys BC/EFA Minneapolis Benefit Concert Raises Over $10,000

April 26th, 2008

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS reports that on Monday, April 7, the Jersey Boys national tour cast took the stage at Minneapolis’s Shout House for “Rock Like a Man,” a benefit which raised more than $10,000 for BC/EFA.

The show featured almost 20 cast members performing rock standards from the 1970s, 80s and 90s, including songs by Journey, Rush, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Styx, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Alanis Morissette and others. They also auctioned off prizes and packages from the stage, including: a set of cymbals and drumsticks from Jersey Boys, a brunch with the show’s Four Seasons, and an “Ultimate Jersey Boys Fan Package.”

Although JB stage manager Lou Byars had put together previous fundraisers for this tour, she credited Taylor Sternberg, a swing on the show, for “making this one happen.”

Sternberg developed the idea, found the venue (a ‘dueling pianos’ piano bar), handled publicity, signed up performers and created a song list, served as the evening’s auctioneer and even found time to perform Rush’s “Spirit of Radio.”

It helps to be 24. “I got this gig (on Jersey Boys) out of college,” says Sternberg, a 2006 graduate of UCLA’s Musical Theater department. “I’ve been with the show for 18 months now. All of us were itching to do some rock music,” he says.

“Everybody has a background playing music and some play more than one instrument. We felt really good about doing this event.”

Congratulations to the Jersey Boys national tour on this fabulous fundraising effort!

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