The Crowd:

“Who are you people? These young people are good enough to be dancing on the stage of the Pantages Theatre,” said Mitzi Gaynor as she was introduced on stage at Chapman University on Saturday.

Gaynor, looking every bit the movie star that she is, wearing a chic magenta-red knit pant ensemble with glittering rhinestone buttons, beamed with a smile as broad as Orange County.

The star of such classic films as “South Pacific” joined Chapman University President Dr. Jim Doti, surrounded by a troupe of more than 100 student performers who had indeed put on a show the caliber of which was worthy of the Pantages or any other professional theater.

Gaynor accepted Chapman’s 2009 Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award as an overflow black-tie crowd at Chapman’s Memorial Hall stood to give the glamorous lady a standing ovation.

“I am truly grateful for this wonderful honor,” Gaynor said. “Wow, a lifetime achievement award … am I dead?”

Laughter filled the audience as she added: “This has been one of the most wonderful evenings of my entire life; I thank you all so much.”

It was part of Chapman University’s 28th annual American Celebration Gala chaired by the very dedicated Donna and Dave Janes. With assistance from an extraordinary committee and a most generous crowd of nearly 1,000 patrons, they raised an impressive $2.2 million for Chapman’s Scholarship Fund.

This private university continues to gain national and international prominence. Eighty percent of the student body receives some form of financial assistance to meet tuition costs.

The community, under the leadership of such notable names as George and Julianne Argyros and Chapman’s 2009 Outstanding Corporate Citizens Don and Deedee Sodaro and Elizabeth and the late Edgar Pankey, have raised millions to fund scholarship needs.

During the musical performance, which was directed with pure Broadway panache by William Hall, the audience was informed that 90 of the student performers were also scholarship recipients.

The cast then paused during the show and applauded the audience for helping them to make their individual and collective dreams a possibility.

The grand night began with a cocktail reception al fresco around the fountain in the center of the campus.

Guests followed red-carpeted walkways illuminated by twinkling white lights from the cocktail terrace into the theater for a show that kept the crowd smiling and clapping in their seats from number to number.

Beginning with the musical number “Hooverville” from the Broadway show “Annie” and including numbers from “Hello Dolly,” “Mame,” “Les Miserables,” “Momma Mia” and “The Wiz”, the performance moved like a wildfire out of control.

Hall and his creative team built the production around the theme “The Eternal Optimist” with stand-out performances by Tyler Cherman, Brian Drummey and Kelly Rogers to name only a few.

Doti brought down the house with a tap dance number he performed with a freshman student that was right out of a vaudeville act.

To the delight of cast, crew and audience, Doti further surprised the crowd by introducing a celebrity guest in the audience, Jerry Lewis. The international star and the man who has raised more than a $1.6 billion for muscular dystrophy stood and took a bow in the orchestra section with his wife, Sandra, and daughter Danielle, who will be entering Chapman in the fall as a freshman.

Orange County VIPs in the crowd included Marta and Raj Bhathal, Dee and Doy Henley, Kelly and James Mazzo, Joan and George Adams, Bill and Judy Brady, Eve Kornyei, Norma Lineberger, Twyla and Charles Martin, Milena Kitic and Milan Panic, Cecilia and Randall Presley, Linda and Vic Goldstein, and Linda and Ron Beale.

Also front and center for Chapman were the glamorous Zee Allred with Drago Gligic, Lula Halfacre, Ninetta and Gavin Herbert, Suki and Randle McCardle, Joanne Leatherby, and the ultra philanthropic and warm-hearted Chapman sponsors Marybelle and S. Paul Musco.

Paul Musco is heading up an enormous fundraising campaign along with Doti and Hall. They are looking to raise $25 million or more that will be matched by a $25-million challenge grant that was given to the university earlier this year by an anonymous donor. It will be used to build a state-of-the-art performing arts center on campus.

After the performance, the upbeat crowd was escorted out of Memorial Hall and into a cavernous Christmas-red tent. It was accented and draped with gold brocade cloth, and adorned with more red velvet roses than could possibly be harvested from the entire state.

In the center an orchestra played on an elevated stage. Red wine was served in red crystal goblets and white wine poured in clear crystal goblets etched in gold.

In the crowd were two very special honored guests, Newport’s Sandy and Harriet Sandhu, recognized for donating a lead gift enabling the university to construct a magnificent new residence hall serving 300 students on the campus.

The Sandhus’ joined friends Leslie and Dino Cancellieri, Beverly and Bob Cohen, Viki and Jim Coufos, Heidi Cortese Sherman, Sally and Randy Crockett, David and Ludie Henley, and Michael and Diane Reafsnyder.

Also under the tent, the ultra elegant Joan Riach, escorted by extended family, Newport Mayor Ed Selich and wife Lynn, Gail and Ron Soderling, Elaine and Gaddi Vasquez, and Robin and David Otta.

THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays.