ZACH Theatre's Next Red Hot & Soul Gala Set for May 3, 2014

Following its most successful year ever, and the first in the new Topfer Theatre, ZACH has set the 2014 date for Red Hot & Soul for May 3, 2014.

This year, ZACH Theatre hosted more than 430 guests at Red Hot & Soul, kicking off celebrations for the theatre's 80th anniversary and raising more than $480,000. Proceeds from Red Hot & Soul, which benefit ZACH's education and artistic programs, reached an all-time high, topping last year's record-setting effort and setting a new standard for events at the Topfer.

"ZACH's annual Red Hot and Soul gala celebrated the theatre's 80th birthday this year, with a Diamonds and Pearls Are Forever/James Bond theme that was a huge hit with our creative supporters, who decked themselves out in all kinds of jewels to celebrate with us," said Elisbeth Challener, managing director of ZACH.

"For the second year in a row, we broke our previous fundraising record. The $480,000 we raised this year helps ZACH underwrite our education and artistic programs, and provides ZACH with some of the funding needed to support our mission as we move into the second year of the Topfer Theatre," said Challener.

Red Hot and Soul festivities included dancing Bond girls, live performances by ZACH Divas, cocktails, dinner, a live auction, and more. The big ticket auction items included a week-long stay at a home in Costa Rica, a tour of Luxury Montage Properties, and the Les Miserables Experience.

Red Hot and Soul 2013 co-chairs were Bobbi Topfer and Armando Zambrano. The event's underwriters were Schlotzsky's, Osborne Advisors, H-E-B, AT&T, and Humana.

For real-time updates on ZACH Theatre news, events and happenings, visit http://www.zachtheatre.org/blog, like ZACH on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/zachtheatre, and follow ZACH on Twitter @zachtheatre http://www.twitter.com/zachtheatre.

ZACH Theatre is Austin's leading professional producing theatre, employing more than 600 actors, musicians, and designers annually. Founded in 1932, ZACH is the longest running theatre company in Texas, serving 95,000 adults and youth annually. ZACH creates its own nationally recognized plays and musicals that ignite the imagination, lift the spirit, and engage the community under the proven leadership of Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley and Managing Director Elisbeth Challener. Now in its 80th year, ZACH continues to expand and engage with Austin, adding the new 420-seat, 32,000-square-foot Topfer Theatre to its performing arts campus, nearly doubling ZACH's capacity while retaining its hallmark intimate theatre-going experience. Visit www.zachtheatre.org for more information.

ZACH Theatre is sponsored in part, by Applied Materials, Austin Catering, Four Hands Home, Holiday Inn-Lady Bird Lake, Kirk Tuck Photography, Marquee Event Group, OnRamp, Austin American-Statesman, KXAN TV 36, and Time Warner Cable; and by grants from Junior League of Austin, The Shubert Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division, which believes an investment in the arts is an investment in Austin's future. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com.

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