What could be better than a birthday celebration, fundraiser and parody performance? Well…all of those things at once, of course! Join us next Friday, June 21st @ 7pm for a fundraiser event to support our dear friend, Sam Clark! Sam is currently battling Glioblastoma (an aggressive form of brain cancer). Our sister non-profit, Off The Lane, is thrilled to be hosting this birthday fundraiser and we’ll be featuring a staged parody reading of THE PRINCESS BRIDE, a special request from our very own Princess Buttercup Sam Clark himself…and of course we responded just as the farmboy once did; “As you wish.”
Having been ‘mostly dead’ all day, your adventure begins at 7pm, where you would enjoy a cocktail hour and light bites. Then at 8pm, sit back, relax and enjoy an INCONCEIVABLE staged parody reading of the beloved 1987 film, THE PRINCESS BRIDE. This is true love, do you think this happens every day?
Wait a minute hold on hold on. Is this a kissing book?…Keep your shirt on…it’s a digital Silent Auction that will be live the week of the event and there will also be live auction items as well as other ways to donate throughout the evening. Keep reading to learn more about Sam and his connection to Mustard Lane, the silent auction and how you can join in the Birthday festivities!
“Prepare to Bid” in the Auction by clicking the picture below!
Our Story Begins…
Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.
Sam joined the Lane in the fall of 2013, just shortly after his Buttercup-to-be, Susie, became a Laner herself. His charm, wit and infectious energy most definitely made him a standout, and a joy to have on any gig. He continued to work on the Lane until starting his own company, Broadway Crew, in 2018.
Even before Mustard Lane, our fairytale couple had previously worked together during the summers flyering in Times Square, and were forming a beautiful, supportive friendship. Well…six years and a ML Holiday Party later…it seemed there was more to their storybook connection!
Wuv. Twoo Wuv.
Mawwiage. Mawwiage is what bwings us together today.
Jump ahead a few chapters, and you’ll find Sam’s business thriving, Susie as an integral part of the ML Internal Team, and nearly five years after their confession of love!
Sadly, like any fairytale, our protagonists soon found themselves in the midst of a nightmare that became reality very quickly…On February 17th, 2023, Susie came home from the gym and Sam collapsed in her arms, seizing on the floor. They were rushed to Wyckoff Hospital where he was stabilized & after a questionable MRI scan, they were transferred up to Lenox Hill Hospital on the Upper East Side.
“There’s a mass on your brain. We think it’s a glioma. We need to take it out. We’ll need to do brain surgery to remove the mass and you’ll be awake and talking to us during it. Do you want to do it this week or wait a few weeks”?
He opted to wait for 2 weeks & that Sunday evening, they were discharged. Two days later they learned that glioma meant brain cancer, that Sam was terminal, and that, based on these scans, he would most likely never grow to be an old man. As the two walked away from the hospital that day, Susie almost blurted out then & there,
“Will you marry me?!”
Was this just a trauma response? She wondered if this feeling would pass or intensify. As that day went on, the need to ask him became clearer and by the time she went to bed that night, she’d officially decided plan, “Propose to Sam” was a GO!
Her plan was to wait until Sam finished radiation, but also to do it before his 39th birthday on June 16th. This left a sixteen day window of time to make it happen! Sam’s last day of radiation was Wednesday, May 31st and on Friday June 2nd, as they celebrated the completion of Sam’s treatment by having a champagne toast on the Williamsburg Waterfront, Susie said,
“Wait, actually…before we open the champagne, I have an early birthday present for you.”
After the presentation of the ring, a myriad of statements from Sam (including a triumphant, “Yes!”), it turned out Sam had also been planning a proposal. The two had somehow never once discussed marriage and yet, both separately decided definitively that they wanted to ask each other. And thus, our couple became BETROTHED.
The Fight Continues…
Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.
And so, we find ourselves a year-and-some-change later, approaching Sam’s 40th Birthday – an incredible milestone! It only seemed fitting that we would pair with Off the Lane to bring our communities together for this fabulous Birthday Fundraiser.
You can get tickets here! There are varying levels, depending on the experience you’d like to have. Can’t make it in person? You can stream the evening virtually!
In addition to the cocktail hour and the outrageous staged parody of THE PRINCESS BRIDE (written/with props by our own Deven Anderson!), there will also be a Silent Auction component! And might we say…there’s some pretty inconceivable items…Broadway Tickets, a coaching session with Calloway Productions, a happy hour at Meaux Space, gift baskets and more! Even if you can’t attend, you can still participate in the auction – we’ll arrange the best way to get you your item.
All ticket and auction proceeds will go towards Sam’s fight and Off The Lane. We hope you’ll be able to join us for this fun and beautiful evening to celebrate a dear friend!
Check out our blog about our NY office/small event space, Meaux Space – where this Birthday Fundraiser will take place!