Love Songs for a Lasting World Benefit for Middle Way House

BY CARMEN SIERING

Malcolm Dalglish and the Ooolites invite the community to an evening of singing, dancing, and, yes, apple pie, when they present the third annual Love Songs for a Lasting World at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater at 8 p.m on February 24. 

Co-produced by Dalglish and Anna Strout, the show will honor Anna’s mother, Toby Strout, who passed away last year.

Strout’s husband, actor Jesse Eisenberg, says this year’s event has added meaning for him. “It is extra special because we get to celebrate my mother-in-law, the eternal and vital Toby Strout,” he says. Love Songs is a fundraiser for Middle Way House, the domestic violence shelter and rape crisis center where Toby served as executive director for 30 years.

The evening is a real family affair. Dalglish’s wife, Judy Klein, heads up fundraising efforts.

One of the couple’s daughters, Mia Dalglish and her partner, Jun Kuribayashi, formerly of Pilobolus Dance Theater, will perform dances co-choreographed by Kuribayashi and another daughter, Naomi Dalglish.

Other family acts include mother and daughter vocalists Maria and Lucia Walker, and Grey Larsen and his wife, Cindy Kallet.

The co-producers say having a show centered on love, family, and the natural world—with proceeds benefiting Middle Way House—is a great fit for Bloomington.

“Especially because we find ourselves in fraught and fragile times, we need to be defenders of the earth and defenders of places like Middle Way House,” Strout says.

Dalglish agrees, noting there are many ways to address today’s social issues. “This is an artistic community, and we can use that,” he says. “So many places aren’t using art as part of the solution.”

While the evening starts with song and dance, Dalglish doesn’t want anyone to forget that it ends with pie. “And we’re really dialing this thing in,” he says of the annual parade down Kirkwood to the bonfire where the pie is served. “This year we have lanterns!”

Tickets (including pie) are $15 for students, $30 for adults at the Buskirk-Chumley box office and online at bctboxoffice.org. Children age 6 and under will be admitted free.