A Christmas Wish for the Garritano Family

Presented by Fine Arts Network – (please donate what you can)

“It’s cancer.”

No one expects to hear those words in your 40's—while raising two young children, teaching at a dream job, and performing across Southern California. Yet that is the reality Casey Garritano faced, and the journey since has been far more difficult than anyone imagined.

Temecula’s theater community has enjoyed Casey’s extraordinary talent and heart. He has poured himself into productions as a director, choreographer, and musician, shaping beloved shows such as:

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

West Side Story

Rent

Some Enchanted Evening – The Songs of Rodgers & Hammerstein

Tick…Tick…BOOM!

Casey’s artistic impact has touched thousands—students, performers, musicians, and audiences alike.

In 2022, after many doctor visits to try to find answers to his vocal problems, a cancer diagnosis was given. In 2024, after escalating symptoms and a biopsy, Casey received a devastating diagnosis: Stage 3 cancer of the right vocal cord, spread to a lymph node in his neck, along with a concerning mass near his spine. In March of 2024, Casey underwent surgery and lost his vocal cords.

Casey battled fiercely, learning how to speak all over again in a new way, he continued to play in his cover band, and began directing and choreographing again.

But in the summer of 2025 while directing the musical "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" for the Fine Arts Network, Casey learned that his cancer had returned and would need more extensive and life-changing surgery to remove the cancer again.

He has now lost his ability to swallow and eat and talk.

His voice—the instrument he built a career on—has been taken from him. He now relies on feeding support, medical devices, and intensive therapy. He is currently undergoing aggressive chemotherapy and radiation treatments. And yet, even in the face of these extraordinary challenges, Casey’s spirit remains unshaken.

He refuses to give up.

Even while undergoing treatment and recovery, Casey has enrolled in electrician training—determined to find a new way to provide for his family. His resilience is nothing short of inspiring.

Still, the toll is immense.

Months of lost wages, staggering medical costs, and ongoing, complex care have placed a detrimental financial strain on the Garritano family that they simply cannot shoulder alone.

Courtney continues working full-time, caring for their children, and coordinating Casey’s appointments and daily needs. The family remains grateful for every prayer, meal, and kind gesture—but the support required at this stage is profound.

They need us now more than ever.

As part of The Casey Garritano Christmas Special, Fine Arts Network invites our community—the students he taught, the performers he inspired, the audiences he moved, and the friends he uplifted, and even people who have never met him—to come together in love, gratitude, and generosity.

✨ Every donation made will go directly to support the Garritano family.

Your gift—large or small—will help with medical bills, therapy, living expenses, and the daily care Casey now requires.

Thank you

…for your prayers, your compassion, and your willingness to stand beside Casey, Courtney, and their children during this unimaginable season. Casey has given so much of himself to this community.

Tonight, we give back.

Love,

The FINE ARTS NETWORK Team