American Repertory Theater Raises Record Amount at 2017 Gala

The Board of Trustees of the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University along withDiane Paulus, A.R.T. Artistic Director, and Diane Quinn, A.R.T. Executive Director, are pleased to announce that the theater's annual gala raised nearly $1.3M in support of the theater's artistic, community, and education programs. The event was held at the Boch Center Wang Theatre on Monday, February 27, 2017 with nearly 500 supporters from Boston, Los Angeles, and New York in attendance.

Acknowledging the supporters throughout the night, The Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus said, "Your ongoing love and support makes an impact and allows the A.R.T. to continue engaging members of the community and connecting audiences to world-class productions. All of us are so grateful for your generosity that will help us continue to expand and break the boundaries of theater."

Kate Gellert, Sid Yog, and Katie and Paul Buttenwieser who co-chaired the gala, welcomed guests to this annual celebration. In her opening remarks, Gellert said "Here, in this city, is where the creativity is born, artists roll up their sleeves, the magic begins, and the work takes flight."

The night featured entertainment from Laura Michelle Kelly, currently performing on the National tour of The King and I and star of Finding Neverland at A.R.T. and on Broadway, alongside Michael Luwoye, star of Hamilton and Witness Uganda at A.R.T. and Off-Broadway (as Invisible Thread), and Wilder Cerrate, a student at Josiah Quincy Upper School from A.R.T.'s Proclamation Project.

The auction, which was led for the fourth year by Kate Chertavian, highlighted a walk-on role in Waitress on Broadway, tickets to Hello Dolly! on Broadway and Barbra Streisand's concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and a London West End package including The Glass Menagerie with Cherry Jones and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

The evening honored longtime A.R.T. Board Member RoAnn Costin with the annual Angel Award. In her remarks, Paulus said, "I can't imagine the A.R.T. without RoAnn. She came into our lives and literally transformed this theater."

A moving video tribute to Costin included accolades from A.R.T. Board Chair StEve Johnson, former Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Norma Jean Calderwood Director and Harvard Institute of Politics Resident Fellow Anne Hawley, Chief of Innovation & Strategy Meg Campbell, and Head of School Thabiti Brown from Codman Academy, all of whom recognized her countless contributions to the Greater Boston arts community.

In accepting the award, Costin said, "It's with courage, compassion, and purpose that Diane and A.R.T. make us see and feel the lives and cultures that are familiar and unfathomable, funny and painful, real and raw."

Special contributions to the evening were made by in-kind sponsors including A?sop, Boston Magazine, The Catered Affair, Cheryl Richards Photographer, The Graphic Group, Ilex Designs, the Martignetti Companies, and Peterson Party Center.

The event's illustrious co-chairs were joined by guests cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Barbara and Amos Hostetter, Snap ChairmanMichael Lynton, Sara Campbell, A.R.T. Board members Ann Gund and Lis Tarlow, Harvard Business School DeanNitin Nohria, Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael D. Smith, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum director Peggy Fogelman, Island Capital Group Chairman and CEO Andrew Farkas, Boch Enterprises CEO and President Ernie Boch, Jr., and many more.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATER

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University is a leading force in the American theater, producing groundbreaking work in Cambridge and beyond. The A.R.T. was founded in 1980 by Robert Brustein, who served as Artistic Director until 2002, when he was succeeded by RoBert Woodruff. Diane Paulus began her tenure as Artistic Director in 2008. Under the leadership of Paulus and Executive Director Diane Quinn, the A.R.T. seeks to expand the boundaries of theater by programming events that immerse audiences in transformative theatrical experiences.

Throughout its history, the A.R.T. has been honored with many distinguished awards, including the Tony Award for Best New Play for All the Way (2014); consecutive Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical for Pippin (2013) and The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (2012), both of which Paulus directed; a Pulitzer Prize; a Jujamcyn Prize for outstanding contribution to the development of creative talent; the Tony Award for Best Regional Theater; and numerous Elliot Norton and IRNE Awards.

The A.R.T. collaborates with artists around the world to develop and create work in new ways. It is currently engaged in a number of multi-year projects, including a new collaboration with Harvard's Center for the Environment that will result in the development of new work over several years. Under Paulus's leadership, the A.R.T.'s club theater, OBERON, has been an incubator for local and emerging artists and has attracted national attention for its innovative programming and business models.

As the professional theater on the campus of Harvard University, the A.R.T. catalyzes discourse, interdisciplinary collaboration, and creative exchange among a wide range of academic departments, institutions, students, and faculty members, acting as a conduit between its community of artists and the university. A.R.T. plays a central role in Harvard's newly launched undergraduate Theater, Dance, and Media concentration, teaching courses in directing, dramatic literature, acting, voice, design, and dramaturgy. The A.R.T. Institute for Advanced Theater Training, run in partnership with the Moscow Art Theatre School and the Harvard Extension School, offers graduate training in acting, dramaturgy, and voice.

Dedicated to making great theater accessible, the A.R.T. actively engages more than 5,000 community members and local students annually in project-based partnerships, workshops, conversations with artists, and other enrichment activities both at the theater and across the Greater Boston area.

Through all of these initiatives, the A.R.T. is dedicated to producing world-class performances in which the audience is central to the theatrical experience.