This Saturday night at Bistro 400, come out and enjoy some cabaret for a cause thanks to former Rude Guerilla member/ Orange County native Alexander Rodriguez and co-host Ben Viele. The duo, alongside other past Rude Guerilla members and Theater Out, will be giving audiences a taste of their upcoming “Journey Home” Drive-a-Thon tour across America where they will be raising money for the American Cancer Society.
The Journey Home Drive-a-Thon follows in the tradition of telethons, but slightly updated for the Youtube age: audiences will be able to see the progress of Rodriguez and Viele's road trip via their Youtube channel, witnessing through car cam comedic road rage mishaps and the saucy comedic banter that has garnered them many fans through the radio show they both host, “Happy Hour.”
“It's like Thelma and Louise, but for a cause!” says Rodriguez. Indeed, 20% of the bar sales from this Saturday's event alone at Bistro 400 go directly to ACS; not a bad start!
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Rodriguez and Viele first met in Los Angeles, ironically (or fittingly, however you see it) at a bar during happy hour. Both came from a background of theater and music, and since then have become best friends and business partners for their own production company Sa Sa Productions. Their radio show “Happy Hour” dishes weekly on celebrity, entertainment and reality TV news, providing hilarious commentary and the occasional musical number while the two hosts consume some alcoholic drinks.
The inspiration for their Drive-a-thon came in January when Viele learned his grandfather had been diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer; Viele hails from Illiopolis, a small town in Illinois, the final stop of the tour, and where the two will present a check of all the proceeds to ACS. Along the way, they'll be performing a special Lion King-themed cabaret show at cancer hospitals in major cities- starting from Rodriguez's hometown in Orange to Springfield, Illinois, Viele's home state, hence “The Journey Home,” where Viele will get to perform for his grandfather one last time. Check out the trailer below.
Friday, July 12 marks the first major stop at St. Joseph's hospital in Orange, and from there it's two weeks of hilarity and cancer awareness on the road. For more information on how to donate to the Drive-a-Thon, visit their site, and keep tuning in! See you there!
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Aimee Murillo is calendar editor and frequently covers film and previously contributed to the OCW’s long-running fashion column, Trendzilla. Don’t ask her what her favorite movie is unless you want to hear her lengthy defense of Showgirls.