Scott and I pose at the Running of the Bulls

The last time I posted, I had been rushing out the door to finish getting ready for Saturday night’s Jump Back Ball.  I pretty much had been looking forward to PlayhouseSquare’s annual benefit since I first read about it last year — so when I walked in the doors of the theatre, I knew there could be the slight possibility of it not living up to the huge expectations I had set.  Fortunately, I’m happy to report I wasn’t disappointed at all by my first Jump Back Ball.

One of AMP 150's delicious food stations at the VIP pre-party

Our evening started in the lobby of the Palace Theatre for the VIP Pre-Party.  Chef Ellis Cooley and AMP 150 took an around-the-world approach with the pre-party food, setting up stations upstairs and downstairs specific to different cultures. I liked this set up a lot because it was easy to get to the various tables to sample it all.

And try the food I did! At the Chinese New Year table, my favorites included the crab rangoon in chili sauce (which tasted like classic crab rangoon but was a little lighter than usual) and the vegetable potstickers in ponzu sauce. Other options I enjoyed included the olive oil poached swordfish with romesco suace, their hummus, and of course AMP 150’s signature mushroom soup.

The St. Ignatius High School Circus Troupe entertained at the pre-party and throughout the event.

Throughout the pre-party, guests mingled and were entertained by one of the St. Ignatius High School Circus Troupe students as he wandered from table to table demonstrating card tricks. Around 7:30, we wandered over to the State to join the rest of the festivities.

The State lobby was filled with a buffet from Sammy’s. I’ll be honest — I tried so much of AMP 150’s food that I was too full for dinner.  Scott, though, is in a constant state of hungry and enjoyed the beef sandwich he grabbed from the buffet. Outside of the lobby, there were also other stations of food including soft pretzels for Oktoberfest.

One of my favorite thematic costumes - Jack Frost and the Snow Queen themed for the Quebec Winter Festival.

After eating there was plenty of partying to enjoy. Before the first band went on and the stage in the State filled up, we wandered around, sampling the ‘Canadian Cones’ (Puckers snow cones) and stopping by the various photo ops.  Word of advice – don’t wear a green dress and take a photo at the green screen photo booth.  Fortunately, Scott and I f0und my disembodied head in our picture pretty hilarious.We also played a few rounds of roulette while others crowded the blackjack and craps table. Since gambling isn’t really our thing, we left that to those who were much better at playing as soon as the first band took the stage.

The first band was The Menus. From Cincinnati and often on the Put In Bay circuit, they brought a high level of energy and often ridiculously crazy performances to the show. Lead singer Tim Goldrainer donned a variety of costume changes throughout (including a few strange ones). Trust me, I didn’t expect to turn around at points and see a song coming from a ladies dress and wolf mask  or his final piece – a square-cut sheath made out of a Target bag.

The Menus entertained with crazy costume changes, high-energy performances and spot-on covers of classics.

It wasn’t just spectacle, though. The Menus hit all the right notes (vocally and musically) in the classic cover songs they performed. The highlight was also being able to just dance on the stage of a theatre where we’ve seen shows before.   I was likewise impressed by the St. Ignatius High School Circus Troupe who treated those of us listening to The Menus with their juggling act – often grabbing volunteers to launch pins back and forth around.

Of course, with numerous bars stationed throughout the State Theatre, no one went thirsty (with the exception of one person I overheard who was told they didn’t have water at one of the bars). The ice vodka bars from Absolut featured mango and sweet tea flavors. Both were pretty sweet so I wouldn’t recommend them in moderation. But you could also order cocktails, wine and beer from any of the other bars or grab one of the Puckers snow cones. RadioActive then wrapped the evening up with a bouncy selection of Top 40 covers.

It was fun meeting up and hanging out with fellow Clevelanders like Alicia from PoiseinParma.com

Although Scott and I enjoyed the wide assortment of food and entertainment, my favorite part was hanging out and seeing people. Our friends Allison (the sister of Clue Into Cleveland guest blogger @EGrepp) and Mike were there, as was Alicia and her husband Hans from PoiseinParma.

I personally also loved looking at everyone dressed up either in their blacktie garb or costumes. From cocktail dresses to evening gowns, anything goes and they were all beautiful. There was also the brave few who donned a costume. A lot of guests who went in costume opted for the bull and bull-runner theme. However, two members of Partners took a unique approach by dressing as Jack Frost and the Snow Queen – complete with full body makeup.  I also loved how one guest incorporated the Passport to Party theme into their blacktie attire with an internationally inspired handbag from Room Service. I loved the foreign stamps that decorated the bag which you can see in the photo below.

This internationally themed handbag from Room Service was the perfect accessory for the evening.

Throughout the evening, I was asked by friends and other Partners how my first Jump Back Ball went. From the food to the entertainment, it was definitely worth the ticket price and surpassed what I had expected. It was a great first Jump Back Ball and won’t be my last!

Scott and I with our friends Allison, Mike and Bonhomme.

Tonight's the night - Jump Back Ball is finally here!

In a couple hours, a year’s worth of planning comes together and Jump Back Ball 20 gets underway. Needless to say, I’ve been counting down the days over the last week as we got closer to today – making sure I had everything I needed, doublechecking I hadn’t lost my tickets, and picking up Scott’s suit.

Yesterday, in the middle of our latest snow storm, I trekked downtown to the State Theatre for set up day. From 10 until 5, a group of Partners and PlayhouseSquare staff worked at setting up the decorations – stringing lights, putting together the various tables, and hanging the lanterns, kites and other decor we’ve been constructing over the last month. 

Sure, there were the few understandably tense moments as final tweaks were being made to the designs (though nothing compared to what I’ve seen in theatre tech weeks and dress rehersals).  However, things seemed to go smoothly enough and wrapped up early. 

It was exciting to see the individual pieces that had been gradually worked on at Shop Nights fit together into one comprehensive design. I was impressed by how everything filled the different sections of the theatre and brought the Passport to Party theme from a design on a sheet of paper into reality.

The best part, though, wasn’t just seeing eveerything come together, but also getting to talk and hang out with some of the other Partners. Looking back at shop nights and set up day, it’s rewarding to realize the number of people I’ve met and that I’m at a point where I feel like part of the group.

The Partners’ Jump Back Ball committee is deserving of a huge shout for welcoming in new members like Scott and I and getting all of the hard work done in time.  I look forward to seeing how it looks under the lights in a State Theatre filled by a sold out crowd.

Glancing at the clock, I guess it’s almost time to head back downtown. Many thanks to Tina and Alicia at Dante Lucci Salon for helping me get ready earlier (outside of the basics, I’m pretty incapable when it comes to hair and makeup).  If you’re heading to Jump Back Ball, I hope to see you there!  Until then, visit Metromix.com to vote for Jump Back Ball as Cleveland’s best fundraiser or feel free to look back at the previous posts in this blog series leading up to tonight:

• Part 1: Jump Back Ball, PlayhouseSquare’s Black Tie Benefit
• Part 2: Getting Tickets to Jump Back Ball
• Part 3: The Wining, Dining and Revelry of Jump Back Ball
• Part 4: Getting Ready for Your Evening
• Part 5: Get Involved at a Jump Back Ball Shop Night
• Part 6: A Passport to the Passport to Party Theme

I’ll post soon on how the evening’s festivities go!