THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 17, 1996 TAG: 9603150213
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
The Commodore Theater will be one of 14 theaters across the United State hosting a special Academy Awards night party from 8 to midnight Monday, March 25, to benefit the Arthritis Foundation.
``Hooray for Hollywood, Your Night with the Stars'' will feature the Oscar awards ceremony larger than life on the silver screen. Celebrity impersonators will roam through the audience and party-goers will have their pictures snapped with the look-alikes as they make their predictions on winners for a contest.
Guests will be photographed as they leave their automobiles to valet parking and walk under the theater marquee. They will enjoy an open bar and gourmet food throughout the evening.
They will be able to bid in a silent auction on a variety of items donated for the event, including autographed movie posters, television scripts signed by cast members, a trip to New York City for the David Letterman show, a trip to Disney World, a chance to make the first pitch at the season-opening baseball game of the Norfolk Tides.
The Academy Awards night party has been staged in major cities across the country for several years, but the Commodore gala is the first in Hampton Roads.
``We walked into the Commodore and knew it was the place,'' says Libby O'Malley, director of development for the Arthritis Foundation in Hampton Roads. Marie Ten Braak, director of marketing for Health South Rehabilitation and a former Portsmough resident, is chairman of the event.
Tickets are $40 per person, and seating is limited to 125 people. Tables for two, three or four people are available for whole-table purchase.
For ticket information and reservations, call the Arthritis Foundation in Virginia Beach at 420-4638.
Across the river, Nauticus will be celebrating the Oscar nomination of its film, ``The Living Sea.'' Nauticus, normally closed Mondays during the winter, will be open to the public from 4 to 8 p.m. with showings of the film at 4:30, 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. Admission will be $2. by CNB