Click here for a photo gallery of the event!

Many groups in Barnegat do not get the full recognition they deserve. One of these groups is the Women's Club at the Mirage. This group of women is active throughout our community and give back in many ways. From supporting hunger programs sponsored by St. Mary's Church to supporting the performing arts which are so important to our children, the Women's Club at the Mirage is there. It's through their generosity and hard work that our community gets a little better every day.

One example of the Mirage Women's Club good work recently took place at their beautiful clubhouse located within the Mirage community. Lynda Rabens, from the Women's Club's Program Committee, has always been a fan of Our Gang Players. Our Gang is a community theater group that has been entertaining our community for 31 years. Lynda Rabens had the idea to invite Our Gang to the Mirage to perform for the Women's Club during one of their meetings, and what a show they got! Performers from 8 to well -- almost 80 -- sang their hearts out in what was one of Our Gang's finest collection of musical numbers to date.

Bruce Baker started off the show with a rendition of "Doo Wah Diddy" that had all the ladies singing along. Bruce's talented daughter Jennifer was next singing "When You're Good To Mama". Young Carly Nelson - who has starred in many Our Gang productions - came next with a number from "Pippin". Joe Wozniak & Jess Evan -- who just won the Governer's Award for Best Actor & Actress respectively -- sang a duet from the upcoming Our Gang production of "L'il Abner". To prove that all the talent isn't just limited to Our Gang's youngsters, Bob Smith and Elmer Fawcett revived their show-stopping duet from "Guys & Dolls". Speaking of youngsters, 8 year-old Brigid Harrington donned the curls and polka-dot dress of the iconic Shirley Temple for her crowd-pleasing rendition of "Animal Crackers". Next was the beautiful & talented Elizabeth Weidenhof singing "Gimme, gimmee". Joe Faraldi - who was the piano accompanyment for the evening, tickled the ivories while singing the Nat King Cole classic - "The Very Thought Of You". Next, the cast of Our Gang's upcoming "Godspell" took the stage to whet the crowd's appetite with a couple of songs from that production. Singing a selection from another upcoming production - Our Gang's summer blockbuster "Beauty and the Beast" was the lovely Alicia Dishon. Bringing down the house was the incredible voice of young Courtney Zahn singing "The Girl in 14 G". Click here for a photo gallery of the event.

When this amazing show was over, Mirage Women's Club President Johanna Lee presented Our Gang Player's Co-Founder and Artistic Director Sherry Schnepp with a generous donation to Our Gang from the Women's Club. It is donations and support like this that are so vital to the survival of great groups like Our Gang. As a non-profit group, Our Gang has really felt the pinch of state funding cuts. Sadly the Arts are always the first on the chopping block. Our Gang must not only pay for the rights for shows and all the expenses needed to put on first rate entertainment for our community, but also pay for the use of using the Elizabeth Edwards School in Downtown Barnegat as a rehearsal site. Our Gang has been breathing life into the old Edwards School for many years now, but now needs help just to keep the shows going. It is through the help and generosity of groups like the Mirage Women's Club that these shows are able to continue for the enjoyment of the entire community.

DowntownBarnegat.com would like to thank these active women of the Mirage community for not just the support they show for Our Gang, but for everything they do to help our community.

Thank you, ladies!