Tony Award-winning legend Patti LuPone spontaneously offered singing lessons as an auction prize and proclaimed Linda Ronstadt’s ‘You’re No Good’ to raise money for the charity A Is For, which advocates for abortion rights.
Martha Plimpton, who hosted the event Sunday night on 54 Below and co-founded the charity, was auctioning off skincare products when a guest sweetened the deal by adding a voice lesson with Tony winner and “The King and I” star. Kelli O’Hara as part of the prize.
Not to be outdone, “Orange is the New Black” star Lea DeLaria called out for her to come to the winner’s house and perform with her band.
Then, on stage to sing, LuPone surprised the audience by introducing a voice lesson of his own, raising the winning bid to $15,000.
Sounds like a bargain.
Also performing at the event was “Wicked,” star Jessica Vosk, who impersonated Britney Spears who sang “Oops I Did It Again,” and “Hamilton” star Javier Munoz, who sang Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer.” Ru Paul’s Drag Race star Peppermint joined in singing Fiona Apple’s “Criminal.”
And DeLaria got the crowd going with Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar.”
While Saturday Night Live’s Cecily Strong was not in attendance, the comic, who sketched abortion on the NBC show last year, put “SNL” tickets up for auction.
The evening also featured a comedy “In Memoriam” video mourning the passing of Queen Elizabeth, the federal right to abortion, “our collective sanity”, the last pay phone in New York, the relationship of Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian, “an impartial supreme court,” and Plimpton and co-host Jenn Lyon cracked “Danny Devito,” before admitting that the “Always Sunny in Philadelphia” actor is still alive.
Plimpton and Lyon ripped off their shirts later in the show, revealing numerous temporary tattoos of DeVito’s face.
And while the fundraiser event was full of songs and comedy, Plimpton, who was open about her own abortion, gave a talk through tears.
“This is not a one-size-fits-all issue, it’s not just a women’s issue,” she said of abortion rights. “It’s about all of us. It’s about physical autonomy and that means everything for every body.”
The event raised over $159,000.