The Crowd: Putting on those dancing shoes

Kudos must also be offered to the three judges. Len, Bruno and Carrie Ann had better watch out inasmuch as their jobs could be in jeopardy. Christina Lyon, David MacInnis and Leigh Steinberg could not have been more charming, offering both positive and humorous critiques following each number.

The evening began with a cocktail reception in the grand foyer of The Grove. Event committee members enjoying a well-deserved glass of bubbly included Karen Treaccar, Diana Thomas, Kimberly Feinberg, Mimi Barker and Marie-France Lefebvre.

Show producers Michael Anderson and Christopher Sepulveda were scrambling backstage with last-minute details as major underwriters arrived, including Mary Lynn and John Rallis, Sue and Dan Guggenheim, Jill and Bruce Ayres, Don Ayres Jr., Julia and George Argyros, Heidi Cortese, Janet Curci, Jan and James Murar, Mary and Peter Ree and Barbara Roberts.

Also supporting the Assistance League were Olivia and Howard Abel, Sandra and Don Ayres III, Patti and Jim Edwards, and the super-generous Lula Halfacre, representing Traditional Jewelers and attending with her daughter Natalie, a recent bride.

A three-course dinner was served beginning with a baby spinach salad followed by an entrée of petite filet and vegetable Wellington. For dessert, it was a bittersweet chocolate pot de crème and a lemon curd tart with almond frangipane and crème fraiche.

Guests tabled-hopped between performances. Assistance League donor George Schreyer was a showstopper in his bejeweled tuxedo jacket. Assistance League President-elect Judith Longyear greeted the crowd, including Barbara Mayberry, Joanne Johnston, Eileen Shitanishi, Ann and Bob Lucas, Carol and Walt Boice, Cindy and Peter DeBaun, and Peggy and Frank Listi.

At the end of the night, the crowd voted that their "Fan Favorite" for 2012 was the lovely Sara Guggenheim Jarrett. The votes translated into more than $100,000 in support for the Assistance League and the Las Reinas, Virginia Castle and the La Marisa auxiliaries. For more information about the Assistance League of Newport-Mesa, go to http://www.alnm.org.

THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays. B.W. Cook is editor of the Bay Window, the official publication of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach.