A Helping Hand

“He folded the laundry so well we thought he should be working in the hotels,” says Terry Lindemann, executive director of Family Promise of Las Vegas, which shelters homeless families.

Ewing did have a hotel job, but he was in the showrooms. When he first started his volunteer washing and folding — a job that suited his daytime availability — he was part of the cast of “Forever Plaid.” For the past year and a half, he has been with “Phantom — The Las Vegas Spectacular.”

Now the “Phantom” cast and crew from The Venetian have taken Family Promise under their wing. On Sunday, they stage a benefit concert, “A Phantom Family Holiday,” to raise money for housing and services to get families back on their feet.

“Bruce has a way like that. He’s kind of like the Pied Piper,” Lindemann says.

“All the actors really got into this. The cast has taken such interest (in the organization), it’s like, ‘What are we going to do next?’ ” says Ewing, noting that other “Phantom” performers have put up families, made dinners or answered phones in the offices at 320 S. Ninth St.

“They’re all so energized,” Lindemann says, quoting one cast member who told her, “We need to do something real or we get caught up in that make-believe world.”

A silent auction offering show tickets, backstage tours and even a chance to conduct the orchestra enhances the event’s potential gross of about $15,500. (The full list of auction items is at www. familypromiselvtickets.com.) The money will be used in the organization’s goal to expand its capacity and help about eight families at a time instead of four.

Those who buy a ticket for Sunday’s show can expect Broadway-quality performances of holiday favorites. But they shouldn’t plan on songs from “Phantom” itself, says Jack Gaughan, musical director for both the show and the benefit.

KVBC-TV, Channel 3 entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs will host the show that will include some unusual offerings, such as a dance piece choreographed to Joni Mitchell’s “River,” and Christmas carols from Nigeria and Spain. “We’re giving people some interesting things to sing,” says Gaughan, “but some of it brings us right back to ‘White Christmas.’ “

One segment is a tribute to old-time radio, while another includes both children of the performers and children from the shelter.

While most of the “Phantom” leads will participate, the concert features those who play the secondary roles or sing the chorus. Many of them, like Ewing, have played the leads in other productions but “don’t normally have a minute to shine” outside of “Phantom,” Gaughan says. “Everybody feels included.”

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0288.