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Menlo School’s Spieker Ballroom with the be setting for two performances of “Life is a Cabaret, an Evening with Kander and Ebb” on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 9 and 10, the 15th annual benefit concert for the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. at 50 Valparaiso Ave. in Atherton.
Steve Gill, the founder of Menlo School’s fine arts program, and his daughter Anne, who inspired the fundraiser, will be joined by Menlo students and alumni paying tribute to the creators of “Cabaret,” “Chicago,” “Kiss Of The Spider Woman,” and other musical masterpieces, including the theme from “New York, New York.”
The Gill family became supporters of LightHouse after Anne Gill was in a near-fatal car accident that left her blind and brain injured not long after she had graduated from Los Altos High School in 1997.
The Gills say that when they searched for programs to help with Anne’s recovery, they were frustrated because many programs serve those with traumatic brain injuries, while others help the blind and visually impaired, but few serve those with multiple disabilities.
However, they discovered, LightHouse offers services, including a session at its Enchanted Hills Camp for visually impaired adults who also have other disabilities.
The Gills say their gratitude for the camp’s existence, their appreciation for the patience and compassion of the staff, many of whom are visually impaired, and their desire to support the special needs session inspired Steve Gill, a veteran Bay Area actor and singer, to organize the first benefit concert for LightHouse in 1999.
Previous concerts have raised more than $95,000 in donations, which have allowed dozens of adults with multiple impairments to receive full or partial scholarships to attend Enchanted Hills Camp, where they spend five days in the Napa hills participating in activities such as horseback riding, swimming and hiking.
Tickets to the concert may be obtained for a requested $15 donation and seating is not reserved.
For more information, contact Steve or Nancy Gill at (650) 948-4648 or gillnancyg@gmail.com