Greater Boston Stage Company Announces $15,000 Gift To Dana-Farber

Greater Boston Stage Company is proud to announce $15,000 in donations raised during the run of Calendar Girls to support Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Calendar Girls, which was the final offering of GBSC's 18th season, is a delightful, heartfelt comedy based on the true story of eleven English Ladies Club members who posed nude for a calendar to raise money for the Leukemia Research Fund. Made famous by the hit 2003 movie, this is a play about friendship, determination and hope; about loss in many forms; about the importance of acceptance; and about knowing when to let go. "When we chose this play to close out our season, we knew that, like the ladies of Yorkshire represented in Calendar Girls, we wanted to raise funds to benefit others," shared Producing Artistic Director, Weylin Symes. "One of our cast members, the wonderful actress, Sarah deLima, had just successfully fought a leukemia diagnosis, so it seemed like a natural progression to have her recommend a charity."

Shared, deLima, "Having been a leukemia patient at Dana Farber, (now in excellent health!) and cared for by a miracle team of doctors among them my beloved daughter, Jane, I was thrilled that GBSC joined with Dana Farber in presenting this production. There is something almost magical to me that the two completely different worlds of a palliative care physician and her actress mother should meet and mutually support each other in this way."

The cast of Calendar Girls generously gave of their time, staying after each performance to collect donations for Dana-Farber. Featuring Boston luminaries Maureen Brennan, Sarah deLima, Mary Potts Dennis, Kerry A. Dowling, Jade Guerra, Michael Kaye, Karen MacDonald, Sean McGuirk, Cheryl McMahon, Nael Nacer, Kathy St. George, and Bobbie Steinbach, the play was helmed by director and powerhouse, Nancy E. Carrol.

Audiences met the generosity of the cast, donating over $14,500 by the end of the run. The actors and actresses then opened their own wallets to push this number past $15,000 after the closing performance. The final number raised for Dana-Farber was $15,082.98.

Please visit http://www.dana-farber.org/ for more information on Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and how to donate.

Photo: Front Row: Bobbie Steinbach, Kathy St. George, Maureen Brennan, Nancy E. Carroll, Sarah deLima, Jade Guerra, Mary Potts Dennis
Middle Row: Cheryl McMahon, Kerry A. Dowling, Karen MacDonald, Maureen Keiller
Back Row: Nael Nacer, Sean McGuirk, Michael Kaye

Photo Credit: Emma Bergman

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