By Kevin Coughlin
Sisters Lauren and Emily Failla loved the theater. So it’s a pretty safe bet they would have enjoyed Friday’s Broadway at the Bickford concert.
Broadway singers sang tunes from Rent and other hit shows at a benefit for the Lauren & Emily Failla Foundation, which supports local arts scholarships and arts- and pediatrics programs.
The entertainment was “a loving nod to our daughters, Emily and Lauren,” said their mother, Kay Failla.
Emily died in an accident a decade ago, at age 24. Lauren passed away in 2010 while vacationing abroad. She was 25.
The evening included a silent auction of goods and services from local merchants, food catered by The Flying Meatballs and a wine pull from Main Street Wine Cellars.
The musical lineup featured singers Rachel Cohen McKenna, Shelley Thomas, Robb Sapp and Brandon Pearson, with Karen Dryer, RJ Rabin, Jeremy Wilms and Don Lieberman serving the music.
Since its inception in 2011, the nonprofit Failla Foundation has raised $140,000 for area charities, Kay Failla said.
Friday’s guests included staff from Morris Arts, which works closely with the foundation; faculty from Morristown High School, the sisters’ alma mater; and members of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown, where the family has worshiped for years.
Friends of the Faillas came from near and far to the Morris Museum’s Bickford Theatre in Morris Township.
“Emily and Lauren’s energy is still very much a part of our lives today,” said emcee Blaire Reinhard Perrin, who played tennis with Emily at MHS.
The sisters “brought only joy and happiness and light to this world,” said Perrin, welcoming the gathering as a way to rekindle memories and make new ones.
“Every time we are inspired to follow in their footsteps and do something nice for someone, or make something a little more beautiful, or we tell a story about them to someone who’s hearing it for the first time, we are passing along their presence. And in a way, we’re building a new memory,” she said.
Kay Failla said she and her husband Frank were moved by the public outpouring.
“It’s difficult to put into words,” Kay Failla said. “It’s like a community support group. People have been so kind, and so generous, for so long. It fills you up.”
MORE ABOUT THE FAILLA FOUNDATION
Thank you, Kathy.
‘Oh what a night’…to remember. Great article Kevin, it captures the energy and love at the event.