Channel Three was there, the mayor was there, and a lot of people came to see a wonderful musical comedy at the Gem Theater in Garden Grove on April 3
It was an evening of fun sponsored by the Garden Grove Rotary Club. One More Productions provided everything to the club so every dollar raised went to the club’s local and global charities.
“We really appreciate Damien Lorton and Nicole Cassesso,” said Rotary event chairman Scott Weimer. “They put on a great show. Everyone had a great time watching a wonderful cast that are really very talented.” Lorton and Cassesso are the co-founders and owners of One More Productions.
“We started this three years ago. We put over $100,000 into this facility and we want to be a contributing member of this community. We are proud to work with the Rotary club to help them in their community efforts,” said Lorton.
Everyone agreed that the cast of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” thoroughly entertained the audience, and even included the audience in the production.
Four members of the spectators came up and became “contestants” in the spelling bee. Each one spelled three easy words correctly before bombing on made-up impossible words.
When Jim Alexander came up the moderator said he was a prematurely grey 4th grader. Then he spelled the word “cow” after asking for a definition and having it used in a sentence.
Dixie Lynch was chided for being a girl scout and letting the Boy Scouts eat her cookies. She then went down on the word “Zsu Zsu.”
Mayor Bill Dalton, his wife Sandy, and members of his family enjoyed the event along with the District Governor of Rotary, Johrita Solari, and Garden Grove Rotary president Bill Annan along with club first lady Barbara Annan.
Another contestant went down on the word “ate.” When he asked to have the word used in a sentence, the moderator said, “She ate eight pieces of chocolate.” The contestant spelled out e-i-g-h-t and lost.
Money raised at the event will go for student scholarships, recognition and other community youth projects. In addition the club has a sister Rotary club in Mexico and has supplied dental equipment and a library for a small town in central Mexico. “This year we have committed to help them get clean water for the residents in their community,” said Rotarian Miguel Cueva.
Garden Grove Rotary meets every Wednesday at noon at the Marriott Suites on Harbor and Chapman.
