Rock and Roll Relief for Sandy Victims

COURT HOUSE – COURT HOUSE – Long after Hurricane Sandy has left the building, in comes a crooner from New York who hopes to wow the house when he performs a benefit concert to raise money for Cape May County storm victims.
The concert is the brainchild of Middle Township Performing Arts Center Director Kay Aspell.
“Because of the hurricane and how it has affected some residents of Cape May County, we have been wondering here at the PAC what we could do to help,” said Aspell.
Ron Gartner, an agent for New York City-based Bicoastal Productions whom she has worked with in the past, contacted her to ask what he could do to assist victims of the hurricane here in the county.
“He said he would like to do something for the residents so he agreed to do a free concert.”
Aspell said a performance such as Gartner’s would normally cost the facility in the range of $8,500 to $10,000. “He’s doing this gratis, in order to help the residents down here.”
While New York City sustained massive damage from Sandy, Gartner has a history with the PAC and wanted to help residents of this community to rebound from the storm.
According to Aspell, Gartner is an entertainer who has done casino work, performing arts center work and has traveled throughout the United States as well as Europe.
“He’s a really good entertainer,” said Aspell.
Gartner will be bringing his 90-minute show, “Scotch, Soul and Rock ‘n’ Roll” to the PAC the evening of Dec. 11 at 7:30.
The show, which is appropriate for all age groups, includes the music of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Perry Como, Bobby Darin, Temptations, Four Tops, Frankie Avalon, Paul Anka, and more, including the music of American Bandstand and Motown.
With its 1,000 seats, organizers are hoping for a full house. Instead of tickets being sold, patrons are being asked to make a donation of $10 per seat, with the hope of collecting $10,000. All money raised by the show will be donated to the American Red Cross and earmarked for disaster recovery in Cape May County.
In addition to seats for the show, Aspell and her crew are hoping to obtain donations from area businesses and corporations.
Making the benefit performance even more poignant is the fact the PAC will celebrate its 20th anniversary the day after the event.
“The anniversary of this building is December 12th,” said Aspell. “This is also going to be a celebration of the 20 years of existence of the Middle Township Performing Arts Center. It comes at an apropos time to celebrate the anniversary and be able to give back to the community.”
Aspell said she has asked the American Red Cross to keep money raised from the concert in the county.
“The Cape May County residents are the ones who support the performing arts center and we’ve had enough damage here in our county to warrant it staying here,” said the director. “We really feel horrible for the people above us, naturally, but we need to take care of our own.”