By Brent Cooper
This innocent remark by co-emcee Doug Banwell produced one of the many laughs from the audience during the The Empire Strikes A Chord benefit concert last Thursday evening. He shared the evening's emcee duties with Jenny Cressman.
The Algonquin Theatre was nearly packed with people who put their hearts on their sleeves and their hands in their pocketbooks to try to assist those who were made homeless when an Oct. 8 blaze damaged the venerable building.
However, few were giggling at the comment less than 30 minutes into the performance when the theatre’s fire alarm went off, sending the audience into the street while members of the Huntsville Fire Department arrived on scene to investigate. It is believed a sensor in the downstairs part of the theatre caused the alarm.
The situation was resolved about 20 minutes later and the audience returned to their seats to be entertained by local talent the rest of the evening, leading organizers to joke about the “unscheduled intermission.”
IN THIS TOGETHER: An appreciative crowd at the Algonquin Theatre gives a round of applause to the performers at last Thursday’s The Empire Strikes A Chord benefit concert. More than $31,000 was raised by the performance, radio-thon and silent auction to assist families without insurance who lost their belongings in the Oct. 8 blaze that damaged the Empire Hotel. [Photo by Brent Cooper]
The Empire Strikes a Chord was originated by Cressman, a member of the Huntsville Festival of the Arts board, and was organized by board members and other volunteers, such as Banwell, Linda McLean, Eric Johnson and Tina Turley.
While the concert was the centrepiece of the fundraiser, it was by no means the only part. A pledge-a-thon was hosted on Moose FM radio Thursday morning as musicians performing at the evening concert dropped in during the telecast, and Empire residents shared their stories as well.
A silent auction was held throughout the day on Wednesday and Thursday in Partners Hall with members of the Huntsville Art Society displaying dozens of donated works of art there. Also donated to the cause were pottery from Eric Lindgren, coffee from Seven Main, a gift bag from Survivorman Les Stroud and Ballet Jorgen Nutcracker tickets.
Festival general manager Rob Saunders said the event was an unparalleled success. “The radio show raised $13,000 and then there was about $4,100 that came in through other donations. We sold $8,300 in ticket sales for the concert and we had about $5,000 from the silent auction. We also had about $600 in coffee sales that Seven Main Café gave us for the night. So, it is a little over $31,000.”
Saunders said the cause was aided by the donations of all of the items, theatre rental and other services. The music at the evening show was representative of the many styles that were showcased in the Empire over the years, whether at the Hideaway Pub or going back a few years the former JT’s Tavern.
However, this fundraiser was indeed unique. There was an underlying feeling of camaraderie between audience and performers, as they had come together to help alleviate the problems of some unfortunate people.
Acts such as Cabin Fever, Tobin Spring and Friends, Turley and others provided a collection of songs ranging from light rock to jazz and folk that had people clapping along all evening long. When they weren’t clapping, they were doubling over in laughter at the antics of the The Woodshed Improv Collective, a team of area performers who wowed the audience in the first half by developing their act based on a word from the crowd while singing A Do Run Run Run.
“I thought it was a really great evening. The heading on the flyer stated The Community of Huntsville Presents The Empire Strikes a Chord. It wasn’t any one group that made this happen,” Saunders said. The money will be divided equally between about residents who did not have contents insurance and lost everything.
