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Turns out the Dreamgirls weren't busy that evening. So when they donned their dangle earrings, high heels, false eyelashes and sequined gowns slit up to here, it was for charity, not wages.
The group of four female impersonators put on a show Monday night in Canyonville to benefit the Roseburg office of the Harm Reduction Center of Southern Oregon. Organizers say the proceeds will be used to expand the center's educational services in local middle and high schools.
The center's educational goals are simple: to build awareness and prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis C. It's a message the Dreamgirls found worthy enough to get behind in a big way. Members of the group met the Harm Reduction Center's executive director, Billy Russo, last year when the Dreamgirls were appearing at Seven Feathers Hotel and Casino Resort. They pledged then to give a manicured hand to the center whenever Russo called upon them to do so.
Russo did. The result was Monday's show, which featured the celebrity look-alikes vamping it up onstage at the Seven Feathers Convention Center.
Former News-Review reporter Cara Pallone caught the Dreamgirls' Seven Feathers act in June 2008 and found them wowing a Cabaret Lounge crowd that cheered their impressions of Tina Turner, Cher, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross and various other divas. As the mistress of ceremonies told her/his audience, “This is not brain surgery, this is not rocket science; this is just men in wigs.”
The Dreamgirls play for laughs, but they donated their time to support a very serious subject.
The Harm Reduction Center has been in Douglas County for 23 years. Its staff members and volunteers connect people who are HIV-positive to programs providing free prescription drugs. They also link up clients with dental and vision services and help with rent.
In addition, the center offers free testing for HIV and hepatitis C. If anyone wonders why such services are necessary in our corner of the world, consider this: Health officials state there are about 150 people in Douglas County with AIDS or HIV. More sobering, there are nearly 1,000 county residents with hepatitis C. The rate is characterized by Harm Reduction Center CEO Ellis Poole as being of epidemic proportions. That's significant for a disease that can cause severe liver damage but that also, like AIDS, is linked to risk factors that can be lowered through education.
Harm Reduction Center representatives are convinced that the sooner people understand how such viral diseases are spread, the more likely they are to avoid them. That's why they've opted to channel the Dreamgirls' financial contribution into programs to spread the word among area students.
We applaud the Harm Reduction Center and the Dreamgirls for their efforts to keep our young people free from deadly viruses. And we hope that someday, a cure for these diseases will be as obvious as the falsies tucked into the Dreamgirls' bodices.
The group of four female impersonators put on a show Monday night in Canyonville to benefit the Roseburg office of the Harm Reduction Center of Southern Oregon. Organizers say the proceeds will be used to expand the center's educational services in local middle and high schools.
The center's educational goals are simple: to build awareness and prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis C. It's a message the Dreamgirls found worthy enough to get behind in a big way. Members of the group met the Harm Reduction Center's executive director, Billy Russo, last year when the Dreamgirls were appearing at Seven Feathers Hotel and Casino Resort. They pledged then to give a manicured hand to the center whenever Russo called upon them to do so.
Russo did. The result was Monday's show, which featured the celebrity look-alikes vamping it up onstage at the Seven Feathers Convention Center.
Former News-Review reporter Cara Pallone caught the Dreamgirls' Seven Feathers act in June 2008 and found them wowing a Cabaret Lounge crowd that cheered their impressions of Tina Turner, Cher, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross and various other divas. As the mistress of ceremonies told her/his audience, “This is not brain surgery, this is not rocket science; this is just men in wigs.”
The Dreamgirls play for laughs, but they donated their time to support a very serious subject.
The Harm Reduction Center has been in Douglas County for 23 years. Its staff members and volunteers connect people who are HIV-positive to programs providing free prescription drugs. They also link up clients with dental and vision services and help with rent.
In addition, the center offers free testing for HIV and hepatitis C. If anyone wonders why such services are necessary in our corner of the world, consider this: Health officials state there are about 150 people in Douglas County with AIDS or HIV. More sobering, there are nearly 1,000 county residents with hepatitis C. The rate is characterized by Harm Reduction Center CEO Ellis Poole as being of epidemic proportions. That's significant for a disease that can cause severe liver damage but that also, like AIDS, is linked to risk factors that can be lowered through education.
Harm Reduction Center representatives are convinced that the sooner people understand how such viral diseases are spread, the more likely they are to avoid them. That's why they've opted to channel the Dreamgirls' financial contribution into programs to spread the word among area students.
We applaud the Harm Reduction Center and the Dreamgirls for their efforts to keep our young people free from deadly viruses. And we hope that someday, a cure for these diseases will be as obvious as the falsies tucked into the Dreamgirls' bodices.
