Students who participate in Starlight Theatre’s education and outreach programs took center stage Sept. 22 as they entertained more than 400 guests who gathered for Starlight’s 32nd Annual Benefit Gala. Among the 35 middle and high school students who sang and danced their way into the hearts of gala attendees were four Vincent Legacy Scholars.
Erica Brown (2018), Carwin Cooper (2017), James Hawkins (2018) and Faith Andrews-ONeal-Julu (2016) performed alongside members of the Starlight STARS, Starlight STARS of Tomorrow and Blue Star Awards students in the gala’s opening number, “Come Alive” from The Greatest Showman.
Another past Vincent Legacy Scholarship winner, Kalen Allen (2009), provided pre-dinner comic relief with a video he sent from his new home in Los Angeles, where he is now a regular on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” The star of the “Kalen Reacts” viral video series and the “OMK! SaturKays” original series on EllenTube took a few minutes to “preview” the meal that gala guests were about to enjoy. Overall, Kalen gave it two forks up!
The night also included a series of three solo vocal performances by Danielle Woods of the Starlight STARS, Sam Aubuchon of the Blue Star Awards, and Mia Cabrera of the Starlight STARS of Tomorrow.
The 2018 gala raised more than $600,000 to support Starlight education and outreach programs, operations and programming.
