Title: Body of Proof
s pulling out all the stops to launch its 13th season with its benefit galaTwo Oscar winners and a famous “bartender” have joined the list of celebrities who will appear during a Jan. 30 benefit for the Ojai Playwrights Conference.
Sally Field, who earned Academy Awards for “Norma Rae” and “Places in the Heart,” will be joined by Mary Steenburgen, best supporting actress for “Melvin and Howard,” during the one-night-only show on the Matilija Auditorium stage.
Also performing will be Ted Danson, who played philandering bartender Sam Malone for 11 seasons on the sitcom “Cheers.” Danson is now featured on the HBO series “Bored to Death” and has a home in Ojai with wife Steenburgen.
The couple have never participated in the annual fundraiser. Field last joined the cast in 2008.
The performance this year will feature excerpts of plays written by the four-time Tony Award winning playwright Terrence McNally, who will be in attendance.
Also appearing will be “Grey’s Anatomy” star Sandra Oh, who earned an Oscar nomination for her role in “Sideways”; John Glover, who played Lionel Luthor on the TV series “Smallville,” and Amanda McBroom, the Ojai-based songwriter (“The Rose”) and actress-playwright (“Lady Macbeth Sings the Blues”).
They join a previously announced cast list that includes Dana Delany (“Desperate Housewives”), Noah Wyle (“ER”), Jane Kaczmarek (“Malcolm in the Middle”), Steven Weber (“Wings”) and Zachary Quinto, who played young Spock in this summer’s “Star Trek” movie.
Tickets are $70 and $85 for the show, titled “Hearts on Fire.”
Tickets that include entry to a post-show dinner and live auction at St. Thomas Aquinas Hall are $225 per person. The auction will feature theater tickets and vacation packages, with the celebrity performers as auctioneers.
For information and tickets, call 640-0400 or click on
The Board of Directors of the Ojai Playwrights Conference is pulling out all the stops to launch its 13th season with its benefit gala Hearts on Fire!
Honoring four-time Tony Award winning playwright Terrence McNally, ”Hearts on Fire” celebrates the passion and power of the human heart.
Scheduled for Saturday, January 30, 2010, the evening begins at 5:30 pm with comedy, drama, and inspired acting featuring award-winning Dana Delany (Desperate Housewives, China Beach), John Glover (Brothers & Sisters), Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle), Amanda McBroom, Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy), Zachary Quinto (Heroes, Star Trek 2009), Steven Weber (Wings), Noah Wyle (ER), plus just announced …
Ted Danson and Mary Steenberg!
An original production created and directed by Robert Egan, “Hearts of Fire” promises to be heart-breaking, heart-lifting and heart-throbbing, with an eclectic mix of works by some of America’s greatest playwrights, including McNally.
Following this Reading at Matilija Auditorium, the festivities continue at St. Thomas Aquinas Hall with a gourmet dinner, the OPC awards, a celebrity auction and more!