Gala planning help: Broadway theme?

I was volunteered to help with the decorating and entertainment planning for a gala for the small non-profit that I work for. We haven't nailed down a date, but it will be in February or early March. This year's theme is Broadway. (They were choosing between this and Mardi Gras. Last year was Vegas. I am telling you, they are very creative with the themes! /sarcasm.) Well, upon deciding Broadway was the way to go, they asked if I would help. Last year, for Vegas, they had a Liza impersonator lip sync a few songs. The cocktail waitresses were showgirls. This year, the girls have already decided to be cats. (Yeah, yeah... this isn't for seasoned Broadway fans.)

We're a small non-profit organization that provides free training to parents, siblings, professionals and law enforcement personnel in all areas of autism. We also host events (picnics, music, surfing, sports, etc.) for families throughout the year. There's never a charge for anything we do. It's a worthwhile cause, I swear.

Now, I am reaching out to you lovely folks. I know that you are just spilling over with creative ideas. I would just LOVE some input with colors and decorations and simple entertainment. (The boss loves his drag impersonators!) Also, if anyone has any suggestions on getting some kind of Broadway themed auction items donated, that would be fantastic! We're about an hour south of NYC. If you would like to contact me privately, drop me a PM.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this.

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Updated On: 11/11/08 at 05:15 PM

If the waitresses are going as cats, why not make that the main theme and decorate the space like a big junk yard? Maybe stick to 80's musical themes, that way it's narrowed down ... OR one musical from each decade?

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Oh, the red carpet thing is a must have. lol We'll do the program like a Playbill and I was thinking of taking pics of some of the kids looking very dramatic and making some posters for the walls.

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I just finished my Non-profit's charity auction. With t he economy so bad I tried to think of places that could donate things of value that wouldn't cost them anything...

I wrote a letter to every theater in the area- equity, non-eq, dinner theaters, community theaters. I stressed the publicity value of donating tickets. We got 14 sets of tickets donated- ranging from a pack of tickets to a community theater's Halloween show to season memberships to pairs for a hot show. We put together a "Year of theater" package with a show a month for a year and put some of the hotter items in our silent auction. The package raised over $1000 and the individual items all did well. People LOVEd the idea.