It wasn’t your typical benefit with black tie, ball gowns and massive floral centerpieces, but the Rape Crisis Center of Cleveland wasn’t interested in celebrating its 25th anniversary in such a conventional way.
It instead staged a concert March 18th at the Cleveland Play House. The event comprised staged readings, solo songs and the debut of the Sing Out Chorale, a group of nearly 100 voices representing some of Cleveland’s best known corporate and civic leaders. Among chorus members were attorneys Gale Messerman and Dick Pogue, Cleveland Play House General Manager Dean Gladden, Dix and Eaton CEO Scott Chaiken, Ohio Senator Eric Fingerhut, and Judge Timothy McMonagle.
Soloists were Denise Dufala of WOIO TV and Cantor Sarah Sager of Fairmount Temple.
The Sing Out benefit, which took about a year to organize, was the brainchild of Amy Morgenstern and Polly Morgenstern (no relation), both of whom sit on the Rape Crisis Center board of trustees. The concert in the Bolton Theater and a pre-show dinner at the Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art netted more than $112,000 for the center, which provides rape victims with legal assistance and support and educates the public about rape and incest.