February 25, 2006
EWART FAMILY BENEFIT
William S. Hart High School Auditorium
24825 Newhall Avenue
Santa Clarita, CA 91350
Newhall, California
The very special 7:30pm curtain time was a “pay what you can” performance of MATTY at the William S. Hart Auditorium in Newhall benefitted the David Ewart Family. A good chunk of cash was raised for a wonderful family in need. If you would like more information on how you can donate to the Ewart Catastrophe fund contact Josy Block at Blocktalk@pacbell.net or call her at at 661-254-8412.
Why?
On December 20, 2005, just 5 days before Christmas, a house fire raced through the Ewart family home in Valencia, CA. Six family members were injured, three of them critically.
David Ewart, 48, Violinist, was burned over 43 percentof his body. His father, Hugh, 81, had burns over 15 percent of his body and also suffered broken bones when he was forced to escape from a second story balcony.
Michael Ewart, 15, suffered burns to over 50 percentof his body. David and Michael remain at the Grossman Burn Center in critical but stable condition. Hugh Ewart has been released from the hospital but remains under the care of physicians at the Center.
The fire was devastating, completely destroying their family home and all the contents, including David’s beloved violin that had been in the family for hundreds of years! The family lost all their photographic memories, school projects, art pieces, music collections, musical instruments, etc.
The good news is that three family members are ok. Heather Ewart, 10, escaped with minor injuries as did her brother, Jonathan Ewart, 13. Their grandmother, Esther, is also doing well.The Ewart family is a very community-oriented family and they have dedicated their lives to helping others. Now it is our turn to give back.
Please be sure to visit www.ewartaid.org or Jonathan’s website for more details: http://geocities.com/fmabbott@sbcglobal.net/
HUGH, MICHAEL AND DAVID ARE ALL HOME!
DAVID has been going through doctors appointments and it’s just a miracle how “up and around” he is. He’s been fitted for a pressure suit that he will need to wear 24/7 for the next several months. It will take about 3 weeks for the suit to be made and since it is so tailored there could even be more alterations needed once the suit comes in. He is in good spirits. He is trying not to scratch his neck/back, though his skin itches terribly. He is sleeping better at night since having the heated mattress pad, though occasionally his temperature gets hot & cold and makes it too uncomfortable to sleep.
MICHAEL had a very warm reception at the week of January 23 – the kids were great! He is continuing with his own hefty round of doctors appointments and resting, when needed. We were told that the doctors were concerned about Michael’s range of motion in his arms, so he has had to sleep with these huge things on his arms. He didn’t sleep very well at first, but now is getting used to them & is sleeping better. If this doesn’t take care of the problem, he may have to have another surgery on his arms, so please pray for total and complete strength & flexibility so that he won’t have to have the surgery.
April 21, 28-29, 2006
THE SANTA MONICA PLAYHOUSE
1211 4th Street
Santa Monica, California 90401
These dates in April brought MATTY back to the famed Santa Monica Playhouse. More than 18 years ago MATTY got it’s early start with several “developmental” benefits at the Playhouse. Now, the show returned to benefit the Playhouse so that this wonderful troupe can continue to deliver great programs in the future. These dates were locked-in with curtain times of 7:30 p.m. We hope we saw you by the beach! For more information on the Santa Monica Playhouse you can e-mail by clicking here (or click on the Santa Monica Playhouse logo above).
July 22, 2006
HENRY FORD MUSEUM
ANDERSON THEATRE
Dearborn, Michigan
There was ONE performance of MATTY on July 22nd at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit as MATTY followed the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s BASEBALL AS AMERICA touring exhibit to the Motor City. Curtain time was 3pm in the historic Anderson Theatre. Visit the Henry Ford Museum website for more details.
August 11, 2006
KEYSTONE COLLEGE
Theatre in Brooks
Factoryville, Pennsylvania
What a wonderful return trip for Eddie Frierson and MATTY to Christy Mathewson’s hometown of Factoryville, Pennsylvania for the annual Christy Mathewson Weekend hosted by Keystone College. A sellout performance (record crowd for the Theatre in Brooks at Keystone) and shared billing with acclaimed writer Frank Deford (who read excerpts from his book THE OLD BALL GAME) marked several enjoyable events. Frierson threw out the first pitch at Christy Mathewson prior to a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons vs Pawtucket Red Sox AAA game, the President’s reception, an ice cream social, the Big 6k Run, breakfast on the green at Keystone and a terrific Christy Mathewson Day Parade down Main Street in Factoryville. It was a weekend taste of Americana at its finest!
