Laughter brings people together in a unique, unguarded way, and now some of entertainment’s biggest comedic talents are coming together for a special fundraiser in support of CommUnify’s family and youth services division, including Head Start and Early Head Start programs for Santa Barbara County’s most vulnerable children and families.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jane Lynch, and Brad Hall will take the stage at the Lobero Theatre on November 20 for Off the Record: Laughter Connects Us All, an intimate conversation that peeks behind the curtain of fame and highlights the connection between comedy and creating community.
Moderated by Dante Di Loreto (Fellow Travelers, American Horror Story, Glee), who grew up in Santa Barbara and is now back and raising his own family here, this one-of-a-kind evening promises plenty of laughter, but also plenty of insights into life in Hollywood and the special things about Santa Barbara’s community that we’re all working together to preserve.
This event is a bit of an offshoot of a previous fundraiser for CommUnify in 2023, where Di Loreto moderated an intimate conversation with fellow Santa Barbara theater kids and now entertainment pros Anthony Edwards and Cady Huffman (see story at bit.ly/4nG3DZO).
“It was very well received, and everybody had a great time,” said Julie Weiner, CommUnify’s Chief Development Officer, who put the events together. A lot of people asked if they would do another one, and Di Loreto was game, “but it was just always a question of timing.”
Comedian, writer, filmmaker, producer Brad Hall (Saturday Night Live, The Single Guy, Brooklyn Bridge) grew up in Santa Barbara and met his wife, actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld, Veep, The New Adventures of Old Christine) in college at Northwestern. They have been longtime residents of Santa Barbara, and when Jane Lynch (Glee, Only Murders in the Building, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) also became an active local resident, the event began to come together, Weiner said.
“The idea was, once again, what does it look like to have a career in Hollywood? And then, to tie it back to the importance of community, creating the community you need…. And then the importance of this community, because Brad and Julia could have lived anywhere. Jane could have lived anywhere,” said Weiner. “So, why this community, why Santa Barbara, what appealed to them about Santa Barbara, and so as it came together this time, especially in light of everything that’s been going on this year…. It felt natural at this moment in time, given how worried and troublesome things are, to say, ‘Yeah, comedy,’ [and] looking at how comedy connects us and how laughter connects us, we feel really good right now. People need that.”
The event comes at a particularly critical moment for CommUnify (formerly the Community Action Commission of Santa Barbara County) and its mission to address the causes and conditions of poverty. One of the county’s largest nonprofits, they work mostly under the radar providing a myriad of services for low-income families.
“I think it’s important to note that our mandate is to serve the low-income population, and so they may be coming to us because they need affordable childcare. We don’t charge for Head Start, so it’s not only affordable; it’s free, but they may also be the beneficiary of things like SNAP or community clinics. They are probably getting their insurance through CenCal. They may be living with Section Eight coupons. … it’s always wraparound services,” explained Weiner. “Unfortunately, many of the clients we serve with one or a few of our programs, may be a beneficiary of other social safety net programs that are being cut. It’s very, very challenging right now.”
All the more reason to come together right now, have a few laughs and help our neighbors in need. Off the Record: Laughter Connects Us All takes place at the Lobero Theatre (33 E. Canon Perdido St.) on Thursday, November 20, at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at lobero.org/events/off-the-record.
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