It hasn’t been the same since Mike Modano left town to join the Detroit Red Wings. Thank heaven the
Reebok Heroes Celebrity Baseball Game is an occasion that like a magnet draws Mike and his babe-wife Mandy (aka Willa Ford) back to Big D.
Friday the ultra-bright beautiful couple was the center of attention for the pre-game party at the Majestic Theatre. The Majestic? Really? Isn’t that sorta a mothball location for such a hip crowd? Not after its recent refreshening under the management of the City of Dallas and a shot of Lara Beth Seager. Who’s she? If you’re part of the Charlotte Jones Anderson entourage, you know. Besides being a Lutheran minister’s wife, Lara Beth is the petite blonde event planner who turned Mia Cocina into a South Beach party palace with Richie Sambora leading a parade of Caribbean-styled drummers during the Super Bowl.
Like Tinkerbell wielding her magical dust, Lara Beth turned the Majestic into a nightclub Friday. The reception was held in the lobby around an elevated black stage with a string quartet. Did folks don black tie and long silk gowns? Heck, no. It was Dallas chic with gents in pulled-out shirts, jeans and boots or sneakers. Okay, so a couple of the dudes went St. Mark’s style casual with shirts tucked in and blazers with khakis.
The ladies on the other hand, like Mallory Vaughan, dressed up the fashion statement of the evening in snug, short outfits or long lounging gowns. The vast majority must have had the same colorist because a certain color of blonde radiated throughout the party. The bare-shouldered gals were ready for anything from dancing to posing for photos. But they weren’t prepared for the talents of the Majestic A/C system. Thanks to the on-top-of-things staff it was cranking out 67 degrees to counter the triple digit temperatures outside.
One of the top topics of the evening was supposed to be, “Who’s going to be the mystery entertainer?” Just the day before Dallas Morning News society specialist Alan Peppard had hinted that presenting sponsor Tim “Mr. Joule Hotel” Headington‘s entertainment connections with Justin Timberlake, Martin Scorsese and the Jonas Brothers might have anyone of galaxy status perform. Someone mentioned that in past years Whoopi Goldberg and Dennis Miller had been part of the action.
But the question was rarely raised. Instead the gathering was more like a class reunion with people catching up. MIA was Mark Cuban, who has been part of the action since the fundraiser started 10 years ago. Word rippled through the room that he was flying back to Dallas from LA and would be at the game Saturday. But would he bring the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy? Thumbs up on that one. Whew!!!
There was no doubt on who was the homecoming king and queen of the evening — Mike and Mandy. Arriving early and checking the layout, they were surrounded by friends non-stop. When asked how his baseball skills were, Mike gave that Modano smile and joked, “Very average.” He figured that he would play either first base or short stop, but was way of making the long throw from short to first. Then he added that the game was secondary to raising money for The Heroes Foundation and The Mike Modano Foundation.
Speaking of money and baseball, Kirby Schlegel reported that he
had sold his Triple-A minor-league baseball team, the Tacoma Rainiers, this spring. However,before selling the team, he had just
completed a $36 million renovation for the team’s stadium and picked up a mega ring for the team’s winning the Pacific Coast League championship.
Then the doors opened to the theater that impressed even the most partied veteran. Lara Beth had had a black floor constructed 3½ feet high covering two-thirds of the theater’s seating and its stage. No, it wasn’t wobbly flooring that makes you feel like you’re experiencing a San Francisco quake. It was built to last, or, at least until the party was over.
This elevation of the walk-around area plus lighting allowed guests to get a more up-close view of the balconies, interior designs and beauty of the Majestic from a past-gone era.
To accommodate the 175 guests, Lara Beth had two seating areas. Within the velvet rope were velvet covered couches and easy chairs for the ultra swells. For the newer members and less financially involved in past games, she had cafe tables with chairs.
In the center of the velvet seating area was a black elevated stage with a piano for the mystery performer. But before “Mystery” appeared, the chatter continued. Bravo’s “Most Eligible” co-star Matt Nordgren was locked in a long conversation with Charlotte Anderson, while Matt’s co-star Courtney Kerr explained that the reality show would “portray Dallas in a really positive light, from a single person’s” point of view.
American Idol runner-up David Archuleta was in the back of the room with his dad, Jeff. No, he wasn’t the mystery performer. He was scheduled to sing at Saturday’s game. Then he was headed to the Philippines for a concert.
Just as everyone was settling down, Mike appeared in the right side balcony with mic in hand. He welcomed everyone and thanked them for their support over the last 10 years. Special kudos went to Charlie McKinney and Donnie Nelson, Lara Beth. He also added, “This is the tenth and maybe the last one; we’ll see. But, we’ve been saying that for four years!”
Then he introduced the evening’s mystery entertainer — Five For Fighting (aka John Ondrasik). Those sitting near the Modano front row couch were pleased as John carrying his guitar took his place on the stage in dark blue open shirt and jeans. Others around the room shifted eyeballs and muttered out of the side of their mouths, “Who’s dat?” A few of the techie types whipped out their smartphones to learn more about the man who wrote “Superman.”
No need to Google. During the performance, they learned from John lots of stuff about him. . . especially his love of sports. Some highlights included:
- He’s been lifelong Los Angeles Lakers fan. “I’d like to publicly compliment Donnie and Mark; congratulations on your NBA championship. Yeah! That hurts.”;
- Five For Fighting is a hockey term for five minutes in the penalty box (Duh!);
- Modano has scored more goals against his Los Angeles Kings than any other team. . . “That’s not cool,” he jokes.
- His song “Chances” was used in the top-grossing sports film in history, “The Blind Side”;
- He wrote “Superman” in just 45 minutes.
In the back of the theater Geoff “Wedding Crashers” Stults was swigging a beer with professional baseball player Kevin Mench.
John couldn’t let the past Super Bowl pass without a story. He told how he, his 72-year old father and 10-year old son headed to Longview to spend the night before the big game. But thanks to the icy roads and lack of motel rooms, the threesome stayed overnight in 10-degree temps in the parking lot of Waffle House.
As he sang a patriotic song, a video was shown on the backdrop. He finishes the song with “They’re are amazing people!” The crowd rewarded him with smartphone videotaping and a standing ovation. John thanks the crowd and says, “Only in Texas do they do that.”
Just before he left the stage, he couldn’t help but make one plea: “I know there are a lot of resources in this room. Somebody, please buy the Dodgers!”
Before John’s foot touched the base of the stage, a spotlight lit up the left balcony where a DJ took over with “Don’t Stop Til You Get It On“. On cue confetti showered down as the backdrop lifted to reveal a laser show and stages with pose-dancing gals with minimal costumes. But don’t get the
impression that the evening was turning R-rating. Thanks to an overly aggressive fog machine and the height of the go-go-girl staging, the gals were hazy beauties out of touch but very interesting conversation pieces.
Besides everyone had to head home to prepare for Saturday’s scorcher of a baseball game at Frisco’s Dr Pepper Ball Park.
yvonne says
I must tell you My Sweet Charity that I believe you have labeled a photo of me as lara beth seager. I am sure it’s because I cut my hair… thanks…
boy does does this write up want to make you go to that event… Yes..
Jeanne Prejean says
You two could be twins!
Wait til you hear about the baseball game!