The Philadelphia Theatre Company fundraiser was lit — literally

The Philadelphia Theatre Company reinvented their annual fundraiser for 2018, by debuting the first ever Play Brawl.

The city’s top business leaders and even pro athletes performed alongside professional actors on stage. Judith M. von Seldeneck of Diversified Search and Molly D. Shepard of The Leaders Edge/Leaders by Design performed a scene from “Steel Magnolias;” John Fry of Drexel University performed in a scene from “The Dead Poet’s Society;” Raheem Brock (former NFL star-turned-actor) performed a scene from Jerry Maguire; Tony La Russa (Red Sox Hall of Famer) performed a scene from “A League of their Own”  and David Cohen of Comcast performed a scene from “A Few Good Men.”

In the middle of the performances, a fire alarm went off. While a few attendees thought it was part of the show, it turns out one of the fog machines for the after party actually tripped the fire alarm. 

The unexpected intermission gave guests a welcome opportunity to stretch their legs, socialize a bit more and nibble on desserts as fire fighters entered the scene.

The show did go on and in the end, David Cohen took home the top prize as well as a really cool trophy, for getting the most votes through a tax-free mobile bidding app.

Excitement is already building for next year’s event. Who will be the contenders taking the stage and will PTC dream up of a fun surprise to pay homage to year one’s fire truck appearance?

You can check out photos from the event by HughE Dillon.

For more information on Philadelphia Theatre Company, visit: philadelphiatheatrecompany.org.