“All For The Love Animal Rescue” Charity Cabaret Event Brings A Splash of Broadway to NoHo

All Photos by Billy Bennight for The Los Angeles Beat

“All For The Love Animal Rescue” put one a special Musical Theater “Broadway” flavored event at Sterling’s Upstairs at The Federal Bar that echoes one of my favorite annual events, The Actors Fund Tony Awards® Viewing Party. The All For The Love Animal Rescue (AFLAR) performance has the added benefit of funding pet rescue from endangered pets from animal shelters. AFLAR focuses mostly on rescuing of Pit Bulls and Chihuahuas because they are the most commonly abandoned of family pets, but they address other rescue opportunities too. AFLAR has been responsible for saving over 325 dogs from euthanasia in just the past 14 months. So the evening performances served as a unique way of bringing pet rescue to a public forum that directly benefits the pets themselves.

Kat Kramer

The evening event started with a bang as Maripat Davis and Richard Osborn took the stage with a medley of S’Wonderful/Let’s Fall in Love and followed it with another medley of I Wish I Were in Love Again/I’ll Never Fall in Love Again. The musical director Shelly Markham led the 3 piece ensemble offering the Jazzy foundation to all of the evening’s performances. The lively energy continued with Mark Winkler’s zingy take on the song Like Young, a Jazzy Bebop number that was delivered in a fun and “Beat Era” hip manner. He followed it with a touching ballad called Dog Passages. Maripat Davis introduced Kat Kramer, who performed two songs, a medley of As Tears  Go By (A classic Rolling Stones song) and Neverland from (Peter Pan.)   Kat’s second song came a little later and paid homage to her Father, Stanley Kramer, with theme song from the movie Bless The Beasts And Children.  Maripat brought the room to a more serious moment when she sat down to sing Feels Like Home while presenting a heart-felt slide show of many of the dogs rescued over the previous year. Maripat’s performance seamlessly moved to Andrea Marcovicci impassioned performance of At the Pound. At this point Maripat and Richard took a moment to honor Kat Kramer’s special guest and animal activist, her Mother, Golden Globe winner Karen Kramer, Academy Award winner George Chakiris and Actress Beverly Todd: who were spotlighted for their efforts and contributions to Animal Rights activism. The acknowledgment were humbly and graciously accepted by them as the audience gave a hardy round of applause.

Andrea Marcovicci

The show returned to its earlier pace, moving to the event’s show closer duets of Here’s to Love and The Sweetest of Nights and The Finest of Days by Maripat and Richard. The hour and a half show provided a varied, dynamic and evocative approach to the musical theater, with the purpose of focusing their talents on the ever presences need of rescuing needy and forgotten pets. For further information about All For the Love Animal Rescue (AFLAR) follow this link.

Photo Gallery at the Break