Beverly's Cabot Theater Event Raises $10K For Ukrainian Relief

BEVERLY, MA — A one-woman play about a Russian-Jewish immigrant who escaped the atrocities of Eastern Europe to make a life in America raised $10,000 to benefit Ukrainian relief at the Cabot Street Cinema Theater last week.

The Cabot partnered with local nonprofit Leading Ladies for the May Community Conversations event at the Beverly theater last Wednesday.

All proceeds from the performance were donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross, World Central Kitchen, and the International Rescue Committee.

"Leading Ladies is very gratified that our friends, neighbors, and supporters came out and gave generously to help the people of Ukraine at this event," Therese Melden of Leading Ladies said. "And so many who could not attend gave also.

"We hope our collective effort will help some of the mothers and children who are devastated by this inhumane war."

Vicki Summers performed the play "Bella, An Immigrant's Tale" based on the life experiences of her grandmother, Bella Indianer. Summers played many characters in the play that told the story of courage, loss, humor and love.

"While no amount of money can truly heal the damage done to the people of Ukraine, I am tremendously grateful to our North Shore community for making this contribution possible, and we hope it will make a small difference in helping people recover," Cabot Executive Director Casey Soward said. "Vicki brought such a moving performance to our stage, showcasing the strength and resilience of the Ukrainian people by sharing Bella's story."

The play was originally developed at the Cape Rep Theater in Brewster in 2017 and has been performed throughout New England, Daytona Beach in Florida and at the LA Women's Theater Festival in Los Angeles in 2019.

More on the Cabot Community Conversations series can be found here.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)