Luminary luncheon with Adrienne Barbeau

CVREP’s Oct. 13th luncheon brought a rare breed of actress for us to meet, Tony and Golden Globe Nomine Adrienne Barbeau who has been working steadily since 1969.  Broadway launched her career with two beefy roles in, “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Grease”.

To add to the festivities, the luncheons now have a new home the Agua Caliente Resort and Spa in the “Show” venue, which was built with state-of- the art everything from lightening to sound and more.  A perfect setting for theatre buffs. Michael Potts newly promoted Director of Hotel Operations, checked in, just to be sure everything was perfect. It was.  The food was delicious and came with a basket of warm croissants, yum! Even the parking (always a nightmare at most events) was so, so, easy, WOO HOO!

Ron Celona founding Artistic Director of CVREP  announced the launch of a Capital Campaign to purchase the IMAX Theatre Complex in Cathedral City as the new home for CVREP. The audience including Peggy Cravens, Michael Smith, Joyce Bulifant, Roger Perry, Ted Giatus, Leanna Bonamici and 90 others responded with major applause.

The luncheon is the Desert version of the Actors Studio, featuring an entertainment industry veteran who shares their story with emcee TV & Radio host Don Martin.   Antidotes re Adrienne’s starring roles in horror films like “The Fog”, “Someone’s Watching Me “, “Escape from New York” and “Swamp Thing” resulted in the her nick name “Scream Queen”.  Working with Bea Arthur in “Maude” she learned about timing when doing a joke and considers Arthur her acting mentor.  Don and Adrienne  kept the crowd of 90 plus totally engaged. The surprise was her favorite role, answer, The Snake Charmer on HBO’s “Carnivale”, a short lived two-year treasure that was a critically acclaimed.

These luncheon events average only 2 hours in length, ticket sales support CVREP -  a 501 (c) non-profit - that is the darling of our little theatres and is the only theatre in the Coachella Valley that has Small Professional Theatre (SPT) status with Actors’ Equity.

Kudos to Board Member Sid Craig for a stellar fundraising idea and flawless execution. The next luminary luncheon is set for Dec. 14, where Trini Lopez will be interviewed by Bruce Fessier.

For information call 760-296-2966 or visit the website at http://www.CVREP.org