Vanity Fair & 'Captain America' Save the Day at Concord Youth Center

Thanks to one of the world’s favorite super-heroes, the Concord Youth Theatre is going to be on the receiving end of great fortune!

Internationally, he’s known mostly as Marvel’s “Captain America,” but at Concord Youth Theatre, actor Chris Evans is just Artistic Director Lisa Evans’ son… the movie star.

Thankfully, Chris is proud of his theatrical roots which began his career almost twenty years ago with Concord Youth Theatre. Because he looks so fondly back on those formative years, when Evans was asked to host this year’s Vanity Fair  pre-Oscar week party in Los Angeles, he was happy to sign on – since Vanity Fair agreed to make a donation  to his favorite charity - Concord Youth Theatre!  

This is an amazing opportunity for the long-time, youth theatre company, celebrating nearly 40 years producing shows with and for children in the area. 

Just this past May, CYT finally opened the doors to its first very-own theater space. 

“We had been operating nomadically for so long,” Lisa Evans said, “we really needed a steady, secure space where we could keep running our youth programming. Rehearsing in one space, performing in another, and holding meetings and workshops in a third – it was too crazy, and more importantly – detrimental to our kids and their experience.” 

Thanks to contributions from Chris Evans and many other supporters including actress Reese Witherspoon and her husband Jim Toth (also Chris’ Agent), CYT held the final ribbon-cutting for their black box space in early June, 2013.

About the Vanity Fair donation, Evans added, “We are truly thankful for Vanity Fair’s (and Chris’) generosity!”

In addition, Vanity Fair will be videotaping the event, providing Concord Youth Theatre a copy to use promotionally and enjoy, as well as the group getting a featured listing in Vanity Fair Magazine.

It is CYT’s hope that this added exposure will help in their additional fundraising efforts so that they’ll be able to develop future programs rather than just maintaining the existing ones.

“Through our performance company productions, theatre arts classes, summer workshops and guest artist performances, CYT teaches young people skills not only essential for performance on the stage, but even more critical to their success in school, work and social settings," Evans said. "We want to continue all of these things in our new space, but also enhance them and provide even more opportunities for our kids – it’s all about them!  They are why we do everything we do.”

“Yeah, of course CYT is my favorite charity, but not just because my Mom runs the ship.  I’m a direct result of what CYT does for kids, and I can honestly say the organization made me much of who I am today," Chris Evans said. "It took the talent that I had, developed it, encouraged it, expanded on it; and those that I got to know through CYT have been supportive friends to this day.  I will forever be thankful to my mentor and CYT Founder Kay DeFord. If I can give back through opportunities such as this and help to perpetuate her legacy – of course I’m happy to do so.  On another level, I really enjoy sharing my success with friends I made through CYT.  I’ve invited several alum who are local to L.A. to the Vanity Fair event, such as another CYT success story, Xander Singh, keyboard player for Passion Pit.” 

This year’s event, to be held on Feb. 25, will be presented by Vanity Fair and Fiat and will be a special celebration of young Hollywood. The evening, at No Vacancy in Hollywood, is an invitation-only reception part of Campaign Hollywood, Vanity Fair’s annual week-long series of events and one-of-a-kind moments in support of charitable causes. 

For more information about this historical Hollywood event, visitwww.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2013/03/history-of-the-oscar-party.