AN OCEAN-VIEW STATEROOM, a jet-black cocktail dress, “The Sound of Music”: They’re among the donated items up for bid during the annual Readers Theatre Plus silent auction and raffle, the event accompanying the run of “Side by Side by Sondheim.”
The show and auction, opening tonight and continuing through June 7, take place at the SunLand Golf & Country Club, 109 Hilltop Drive, all to raise funds for the nonprofit theater troupe. Founded in 2006, Readers Theatre Plus produces staged readings, musicals and other events, while donating all ticket proceeds to various local groups. These range from Captain Joseph House in Port Angeles to the Sequim Museum & Arts Center to the Clallam County-wide Puppy Pilots guide-dog training program.
Carol Swarbrick Dries, cofounder of Readers Theatre Plus, has been gathering donations for some time. She reports that many local businesses have been generous: Sassy Kat in downtown Port Angeles contributed the little black dress, and Pane d’Amore, which has shops in Sequim and Port Townsend, has donated a loaf of bread every week for one year. The bread winner can live anywhere, Swarbrick Dries said, while the loaves will come from the Sequim location at 104 E. Washington St.
Silent auction items from farther afield include a week-long Holland America cruise to the Caribbean, Alaska or New England and Canada, and a Hilton Vacation Club suite over New Year’s in Las Vegas.
The 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle has provided a pair of tickets to “The Sound of Music,” its holiday production to open Nov. 24. Swarbrick Dries will appear in it along with her husband Jim Dries; he has a cameo as a party guest while she’ll portray Sister Bertha, one of the nuns who sings “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?” More about the show and the theater can be found at www.5thAvenue.org.
Those who want to learn more about Readers Theatre Plus are invited to “Side by Side by Sondheim,” naturally — while the advance information portals are www.readerstheatreplus.com and 360-797-3337.
