This year’s Fountain Hills Theater “Broadway in the Hills” fundraiser proved to be a major success, primarily thanks to a long-time theater supporting couple.

The gala Fundraiser was held in the Community Center Sunday night, March 5.

Highlight of the evening was the presentation of a $30,000 check to the theater from Fred and Barb Hansen.

Barb told a story about how the Fountain Hills Theater has played such an important role in her family.

“Nineteen years ago, my granddaughter, Stephanie, was seven years old. She was the happiest little girl who loved performing, singing and dancing. She performed in a lot of plays at Desert Stages in Scottsdale.

“My daughter noticed South Pacific auditions were being held in Fountain Hills and they needed a little boy and a girl to be in this adult production.

“Our Stephanie auditioned and got the part. She was ecstatic. She was going to be in a play in Grandma’s town.”

Two weeks before rehearsals began, Stephanie went on vacation with her family and became ill almost overnight. She lost weight, was very tired and was continuously thirsty.

Barb, having worked in the medical field for many years, had a gut feeling that her granddaughter had diabetes. A final test was to test her breath, which her father did and it about knocked him over. They rushed her to the hospital where she was immediately put in intensive care. She was there for three days with a blood sugar count so high that they could have lost her.

They notified the Theater people about Stephanie’s condition and told them she needed to withdraw from the show.

“Val (Stasik) and Peter (J. Hill) discussed the pros and cons of allowing Stephanie to do the show,” Barb said. They had to be at the theater at all times in case of an emergency.

“What impact did this theater and its performers have on me?” Barb asked.

“They took my granddaughter and gave her life. They gave her the ability to continue to chase her dreams. They gave her self-confidence. They didn’t make her feel different.”

She went on to perform and never missed a performance.

She later performed in the theater’s production of Fiddler on the Roof.

On two occasions, she sang the National Anthem at Arizona Diamondbacks games.

She was the female lead in High School Musical at the Herberger Theater in downtown Phoenix.

Now 26 years old, she is a teacher to middle school children, teaching Spanish in Los Angeles.

Barb, who served on the theater’s activity and advisory boards for more than 15 years, also spoke about her “treasured and beloved friend,” Val Stasik.

“Val has always inspired me by her dedication to this theater. I have watched her pursue her dream. She has never given up.

“We have benefitted from having this wonderful theater. It has brought patrons from all over the Valley to see our award-winning plays. This theater has brought thousands of dollars into our community.”

Barb then said, “I would like to honor Val tonight by not letting her dream die. For the theater’s 30th anniversary, Fred and I would like to make the lead donation tonight by giving $30,000 to start the fundraising to make sure we do not lose this wonderful jewel in our town.”

She then turned the microphone over to Fred. He also thanked Val for keeping her dream alive. He noted that she has stepped down and that the theater is now working with a new executive director, Suzu Henderson.

Fred said, “We have done this tonight because, after researching the numbers, we realized the theater needs in excess of $100,000 to survive.

“Expenses are not met by ticket sales. We have a great deal of maintenance and upkeep, production costs and these continue to stretch the budget. We need all of you to help.”

Several patrons and attendees stepped forward to contribute, raising over $50,000. Donors included Peggy and Bob Miller and their local business, Technologic Systems, Jerry and Jackie Miles, Ione Bushman, Pat and Mike Druckman, Dori Wittrig and Sonoran Lifestyle Real Estate, The Verne C. Johnson Family Foundation, Carol Coates for the Charles and Elizabeth Russell Foundation and other anonymous donors.