22 CROSSROADS SCHOOL FOR ARTS & SCIENCES
PARENT ASSOCIATION
Crossroads Night Live Reprise Goes Virtual After more than a year of pain and isolation brought on by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, we were all in dire need of something to laugh about. Anticipating this, the Parent Association styled this year’s May 15 financial aid fundraiser as the return of Crossroads Night Live. The first CNL, held at the Skirball Center in 2018, was a sold-out event hosted by Bill Hader and featured other comedy legends and luminary “Saturday Night Live” cast members spanning decades. Emily Deschanel ’94 and Zooey Deschanel ’98 kicked off the show with a cold open paying tribute to, and poking fun at, Crossroads’ Council tradition.
Since large gatherings were still not possible in person, CNL 2021 brought the community together virtually for yet another epic evening of comedy and music created by Crossroads, for Crossroads. The show was 90 minutes of nonstop fun and fundraising to benefit the School’s Financial Aid Fund.
NBA great Baron Davis ’97 countered cancel culture with sage advice in “Dr. Davis: Getting Seuss’d.” Bill Hader sheepishly copped to not getting vaccinated in time to film “The Crossroadians” in person, resulting in a sidesplitting version using Barbie dolls.
Bob Riddle hosted a socially distanced outdoor lunch for the School’s senior administrators, blasting them with an entire buffet’s worth of food and drink launched by an air compressor cannon.
This memorable production was made possible by two Crossroads dads and volunteers extraordinaire who generously shared their professional talents: prolific writing genius Demetri Pappas and exceptional editor Brian Pianko. They also co-produced the show with Director of Parent Relations and Special Events Mery Grace Castelo. Event Co-Chairs Marissa Pianko and Samira Poulos and Auction/Raffle Co-Chairs Bhavna de Montebello, Sarah Slome Schwartz and Alan Rakov (who donated livestream services from his company Live From) were seminal to the success of this uniquely Crossroads fundraiser.
