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The Drama League's Board at its 2013 Musical Celebration of Broadway. |
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| Last Monday night, the Drama League's 2013 Musical Celebration of Broadway was held at The Pierre. This year's honoree was five time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald. The Drama League’s annual black tie Benefit Gala is a night where the greatest stars of Broadway and Hollywood come together for a unique, one-time-only musical revue celebrating the career of the Honoree. Funds raised are for the vital education programs of The Drama League Directors Project. Since 1984, the Benefit Gala has honored exceptional artists whose talent and passion have served as a benchmark for others. Each year, an audience of several hundred theatre lovers come out to support the Drama League Directors Project. |
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Bonnie Comley, Stewart Lane, Lauren Pizza, Joseph Pizza, Airelle Pizza, and Gabrielle Shanks |
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| The leads of Priscilla Queen on the Desert, Tony Sheldon, Will Swenson and Nick Adams announced the new Drama League Theater Center, a new, state-of-the-art facility that will bring world-class theater artists, emerging talents, and New York theatergoers together under one roof. The Center, located on the lobby level of the historic former AT&T Building at 32 Avenue of the Americas, in the heart of TriBeCa’s arts district, is scheduled to open in April 2013 and will be named in honor of Tony Award Winning producers, Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley. Among the evening's guests and performers and were: Zoe Caldwell, Patti Lupone, Taye Diggs, Phylicia Rashad, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Tyne Daly, Victor Garber, Norm Lewis, Mary Testa, Anthony Crivello, Seth Rudetsky, Tony Sheldon, Bonnie Comley, Stewart Lane, Judith Light, Julie White, and Senator Tom Duane, Bonnie Comley, Stewart Lane, Judith Light, Julie White and Senator Tom Duane. |
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| On Monday February 11, 2013, Chef Andre Soltner & Chef Jacques Torres hosted a champagne reception to announce plans for University Settlement's 9th Annual Fine Wine Dinner & Auction. The soirée was held at the home of board member on the Upper East Side. University Settlement's 9th Annual Fine Wine Dinner & Auction, an evening at Lutece with Chef Andre Soltner, will be held on Tuesday, April 16 at 82Mercer. A Champagne Henroit Reception will start at 6PM with the dinner and auction following at 7PM. The benefit’s co chairs are Gary J. Baumann, Sharon R. Egilinsky, and James K. Finkel. For one night only, celebrated Master Chef André Soltner will re-create the legendary menu and incomparable dining experience that was Lutèce. Savor an unforgettable selection of wines expertly paired with his award-winning cuisine, and enjoy dessert by Master Pastry Chef Jacques Torres and a live auction conducted by Lydia Fenet of Christie’s. |
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| Guests included: Marjorie and Ellery Gordon, Judith and Laura Hoffman, Sharon Hoge, Sirio Maccioni, Mario Maccioni, Arlene Feltman and Alain Sailhac, Andre Soltner, and Jacques Torres. Since 1886, University Settlement has helped low-income families and immigrants improve their lives through quality education, decent housing, physical and emotional well being, and opportunities to prosper economically in pursuing the American dream. Every year, the organization supports over 25,000 New Yorkers with programs at 21 locations throughout New York City. University Settlement is among New York’s most highly regarded non-profits, with programs that are nationally-recognized and set industry and city-wide standards. |
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| On Wednesday evening Lost and Found: The Pinajian Discovery, an exhibition of 50 paintings by the late abstract artist Arthur Pinajian had its New York debut with a benefit preview for the Fund for Armenian Relief at the Antiquorum Gallery. The genesis of this exhibition is a fascinating one, and starts when Lawrence E. Joseph, the best-selling author of “Apocolypse 2012” and Thomas Schultz, were looking for house in Bellport, Long Island, and came upon a charming cottage where Pinajian’s once resided with his sister. While walking the property he entered the garage and lo and behold there were thousands of paintings, sketches, drawings, tucked into every nook and cranny and piled from floor to ceiling. |
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| Overlook Mountain Woodstock, 1954 |
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| Pinajiian had instructed his sister to destroy everything, but a cousin intervened and halted the dump truck as it was pulling into the driveway. Mr. Joseph contacted Professor William Innes Homer, then dean of American art historians, who in turn reached out to Peter Hastings Falk, another prominent art historian, whose website RediscoverdMasters.com is devoted to the work of late-career and deceased artists whose work may have been overlooked. He and his team came to the conclusion that Pinajian is indeed an important artist on the caliber of some of the great abstract expressionists of our time. The exhibitions runs through March 10. www.pinajianart.com/ |
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| Overlook Mountain Woodstock, 1961 |
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| Among the guests: Gary Moomjian, Lawrence E. Joseph, Peter Hastings Falk and Laurie Rosenfield Falk, Vicki and Dr. Raffy Hovanesian, Sahun Arzuni, Arto Vorperian, Sirouhi Mushegian, Gail Wernick, Charles Theofan, Taleen and Robert Setrakian, Jeanie Amerkanian, Richard Goulian, Antraniq Gharibian, Geoffrey Moss, Christine Mayer, Sirouhi Mushigian, Betsy Berg, Dana Conroy, Mary Schultz, Tim Hoffman, Lisa Keim, Diana Arakelyan, Yelena Nersesyan, Joan Thorne, Larry Kaye, Joseph Basralian, Denise Darmanian, Katya Griveva, Frances Lawrence, Dick McEvoy, Ben Blatt, Meg Wendy, Carol Ardman, Vyna St. Phard, Amy Hertz, Rose Hartman, Gary Steele, Tamar Gasparian, and Raffy Hovsepian. |
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| Gail Wernick, Charles Theofan, Katya Grineva, Lawrence E. Joseph, Amy Hertz, and Carol Ardman |
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| Meg Wendy and Peter Hastings Falk |
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| Dana Conroy, Gary Steele, Laurie Rosenfield Falk, and Betsy Berg |
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| Lawrence E. Joseph, Arto Vorperian, and Peter Hastings Falk |
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| John Perrault, Thomas Schultz, Lawrence E. Joseph, and Peter Hastings Falk |
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| Devon Mehring and Karen Hayward |
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| Joseph Basralian and Denise Darmanian |
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| Mary Schultz, Tim Hoffman, and Lisa Keim |
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| Peter Hastings Falk, Tamar Gasparian, and Rafi Hovsepian |
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| Diana Arakelyan, Gary Moomjian, Lawrence E. Joseph, and Yelena Nersesyan |
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| Peter Hastings Falk and Larry Kaye |
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| Vicki Hovanessian and Dr. Raffy Hovanessian |
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| Louise Levin and Terri Thielen |
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| Taleen and Robert Setrakian |
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| Jeanie Amerkanian and Richard Goulian |
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| Katya Griveva and Frances Lawrence |
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| Geoffrey Moss and Peter Hastings Falk |
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| Joan Thorne |
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| Vyna St. Phard and Rose Hartman |
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| Sahan Arzuni |
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| Antraniq Gharibian and Christine Mayer |
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| The Ryan Licht Sang Bipolar Foundation’s Eighth Annual Dinner Dance, “An Evening of Palm Beach Casual,” held at Club Colette on Sunday, January 27, 2012, drew a Palm Beach-casually dressed, capacity crowd comprised of stalwart supporters and friends of the Foundation. Liza PulitzerCalhoun and Sheila Fine were the Honorary Chairmen of the Dinner Dance, and were joined by Junior Chairmen Micah and Rob Ford, Bobby Leidy and Kristen and Brian Ray. The inaugural Shining Star Award honorees were Lori Gendelman and Denise Hanley. The annual fundraiser began with a moonlit cocktail reception, followed by dinner and dancing to music played by the band Street Talk. The Palm Beach Casual theme was reflected throughout from the colorful, whimsical décor by Tom Mathieu to the Pucci and Lily Pulitzer prints worn by some of the guests to the Palm Beach Casual and Palm Beach Breeze cocktails created especially for the occasion by Club Colette. Loro Piano supported the event with a raffle prize donation of four $1,000 gift certificates. |
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| During dinner, Dusty Sang, Ryan’s father, thanked the Foundation’s friends and supporters and spoke about the Foundation’s progress over the past eight years. He recounted how the Foundation’s funding of three important scientific or educational projects had blossomed into larger Federal support grants. He also announced that this Bipolar Dinner Dance would be the Foundation’s last one and that a Medical Briefing Luncheon on Early-Onset Bipolar Disorder, presented by world-renown clinicians and researchers and chaired by Frances Fisher and Sally Soter, would take its place in early 2014. The podium was then turned over to Joyce Sang who presented Lori Gendelman and Denise Hanley with Foundation’s Shining Star Award, its highest honor, in recognition of their unwavering support, leadership and commitment to the Foundation’s mission and goals. Each recipient gave an acceptance speech that expressed their feelings about the Foundation, its work and the cause. |
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| The Sangs also recounted that because of the support of the Palm Beach community and the Young Friends events, the Foundation has been able to underwrite the costs of bringing the Adolescent Depression Awareness Program (ADAP) from Johns Hopkins to Palm Beach County public and private high schools for two successive years. The most recent program was hosted by the Benjamin School, whose Head of School, Robert Goldberg, was in attendance at the Dinner Dance. The ADAP program trains high school faculty, parents and students how to recognize Bipolar Disorder and depression. The Ryan Licht Sang Bipolar Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) public charitable organization whose mission is to foster awareness, understanding and research for early-onset Bipolar Disorder. The Foundation is a member of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Alliance for Research Progress and a National Partner of the NIMH Outreach Program. Proceeds from the Eight Annual Dinner Dance will help fund the Foundation’s mission. For further information, visit the Foundation’s informative website at: www.questforthetest.org |
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Photographs by Rob Rich (Drama League); David Dupuy/www.AnnieWatt.com (Fund for Armenia); Lucien Capehart Photography (Bipolar Foundation). |