S potlight

Dinner and a musical for a good cause? Count us in!

Gene Flake is producing and directing an intimate musical dinner experience at the Grotto in Eureka Springs, with performances slated from Feb. 19-22. All proceeds from the event go to the Purple Flower, the only domestic violence resource center in Carroll County.

“I’m a theater person. I love directing plays, but I won’t do it unless it’s for a nonprofit,” Flake said.

He’s especially excited about this musical, called I Do! I Do! Flake said he was inspired to bring the musical to life after seeing leading lady Juli Tapken perform in a play last year. Spanning 50 years, the musical focuses on the marriage of Agnes and Michael. Tapken portrays Agnes.

“This is one of the plays I carried around in my head saying, ‘I’d love to do this if I found the right person,’” Flake said. “And I found my person in [Tapken].”

Flake continued, “This is a wonderful show. It’s just a lovely story of a couple as they age. It’s a Valentine of a musical.”

Last year, Flake hosted a similar event benefiting Good Shepherd Humane Society. That event raised $7,400, and Flake said he hopes to raise $10,000 this time around. Those funds are badly needed, according to the Purple Flower administrator Margo Elliott.

“We are just three people, and we’re trying to hire more people,” Elliott said. “We keep increasing in clients. We just took in two new ones today, and we need the donations to help the increase in clients.”

The organization lost all its federal funding last year, Elliott said, and can’t reapply for two years. With federal funds accounting for nearly half of the organization’s budget last year, donations have become especially important.

“We did a gala in November that got us over the hump to where we know we can make it through the next few months,” Elliott said.

This year, the budget totals $201,000. Elliott said that amount allows the organization to do everything it needs to help the survivors of domestic violence, providing the staff to help clients navigate their new lives. That could mean accompanying them to court for a protective order, providing basic hygiene items or transporting them to appointments.

“We even have a scanner that can tell us if there’s a GPS tracking device on their car,” Elliott said.

Elliott said it’s heartwarming to see so many people step up to help the organization. The Purple Flower accepts all kinds of donations to help clients get back on their feet, from toilet paper to blankets. Supporters can set up a monthly donation to the organization.

“Right now, our once-amonth donors are literally paying our rent and crisis fund,” Elliott said. “We’ve got that to count on. Those donations are really going to help somebody get their life back.”

None of that would be possible without the organization’s board of directors.

“It was critical, once we knew that we were losing our federal funding, that we had a great board,” Elliott said. “And we do.”

Board president Jonathan Teigen said he’s honored to help domestic violence survivors in Carroll County. When people donate their time or money to the Purple Flower, Teigen said, they have a direct impact on someone’s life.

“It’s evidence that people actually care about this issue. It shows that they care about what we do and our mission,” Teigen said. “I’ve had too many people I care about be affected by domestic violence. There’s not many causes better than the Purple Flower.”

Flake said he chose the Purple Flower because there’s no other domestic violence resource center nearby.

“I feel like I need to do something for them,” Flake said.

He thanked Rodney and Autumn Slane, owners of the Grotto, for hosting the event.

“They’re serving gourmet food from the Grotto, and they’re the best people I’ve ever done a theater production with,” Flake said. “Eureka Springs is the perfect place to do something like this.”

Showings are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19; 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20; 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21; and 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22.

To purchase tickets, visit www.ThePurpleFlower. org.