The cast and creator of ABC's Grey's Anatomy went from the fictional hospital of Seattle Grace to the stage at UCLA's Royce Hall on Sunday, staging a live benefit concert for the Actors Fund.

Featuring cast members Sara Ramirez, Chandra Wilson, Kevin McKidd, Justin Chambers, Jessica Capshaw, James Pickens Jr., Sarah Drew, Kim Raver, Sandra Oh and Eric Dane, the two-hour, nearly sold-out event featured 11 songs, including tracks from its March 2011 musical episode "Song Beneath the Song."

During the light-hearted show, a spirited Oh (Cristina) acted as a de-facto emcee and introduced segments of the evening that served to shed light on how the medical drama came to feature a musical episode as well as how music serves as a character on the Shonda Rhimes show.

STORY: Shonda Rhimes Talks 'Grey's Anatomy's' Live Musical Benefit

"In the end, it was the iTunes revenue that pushed the ABC suits over the top," McKidd (Owen) joked, leading into a cover of "How We Operate," a track he performed in an audition of sorts pitching the musical episode's concept.

Highlights included Capshaw (Arizona) and Raver (Teddy) introducing a clip taking viewers back to Izzie and Denny's dramatic scene in the season two finale that played first without music, and later, as an example of what not to do, backed by Darth Vader's theme from Star Wars. Ultimately, that's where the drama opted to use Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars," which has become one of the series' signature moments.

Co-star Dane (Mark), meanwhile, provided a comedic injection, taking nearly every opportunity he could to make a play to sing during the fund-raiser. (Neither he nor Oh performed.)

STORY: 'Grey's Anatomy' Musical Episode: What the Critics Are Saying

Acknowledging that the musical endeavor wasn't exactly a critical (and sometimes fan) favorite, the cast took turns reading feedback about the episode that was both positive and negative in a playful round that culminated with Pickens (Richard) suggesting the series make a second attempt at a musical episode -- in season 13.

Grey's music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas, meanwhile, explained that music is treated as if it's another character on the series, noting she's tasked with combing clubs and the Internet for up-and-coming artists, sometimes reviewing as many as 500 CDs a week. (FIve-hundred and one if you count the one Dane pitched Sunday, she noted with a laugh.)

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'Grey's Anatomy' Cast Makes Music for Actors Fund