New legends of the follies

Andrew Edwards

As rain poured outside, more than 50 novice and experienced

performers gathered Sunday at The Sutton Place Hotel in Newport Beach

to bust their moves in hopes of snagging a role in the ninth annual

CHOC Follies.

Since its inception, the fundraising musical that benefits

Children’s Hospital of Orange County has raised about $2.5 million

for the hospital’s foundation, executive producer Gloria Zigner said.

The show raises money for the foundation through ticket sales and

sponsorships, and every performer is required to raise at least $500

through those methods.

Each year, the show has a different theme, director John Vaughan

said. This year, the show will be set on a cruise ship that embarks

from Newport Beach for a journey set to include romance, celebrities,

gambling and pirates.

“We have a cruise around the world and a lot of romance this

year,” Vaughan said. “This year, we have a lot of girls that meet

their husbands. It’s kind of like ‘The Love Boat.’”

To start the audition, aspiring performers got up in one big group

and followed choreographer Lee Martino as she demonstrated to the

group how to slide, twirl and boogie in sync. Afterward, Martino and

Vaughan called everybody up a second time to dance in small groups.

Some of the dancers glided like seasoned pros. Others looked like

they were having fun but would need some practice if chosen for one

of the less than 100 roles in the show.

“The most important thing is that they have energy and personality

and are just game for anything,” Martino said. “And it’s our job to

make them look good.”

After the dancing, it was time to sing. Musical director Doug

Austin led everyone through a brief portion of Cole Porter’s tune

“De-Lovely.”

The tryout featured a couple of veteran performers like “Skipper”

Tim Bercowitz, 73, of Newport Beach, who has had roles in all eight

previous CHOC Follies. Working as a private investigator in Santa

Ana, he intercepted a fax aimed at his boss to recruit performers for

the first show. His boss didn’t want to do it, but Bercowitz, who

performed Shakespeare at age 11, jumped right in.

“I love it,” he said. “It’s for a good cause, and I’m a ham.

In his years in the shows, the performers have often formed close

bonds with one another, he said.

“You don’t join a cast, you join a family,” he said. “These are

just wonderful people. There’s no ego here.”