Dallas Theater Center To Host Annual Centerstage Gala This May

Tickets are now available for Dallas Theater Center's annual fundraising Gala, Renaissance Centerstage, to take place at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre on Saturday, May 13, 2023. Event details and ticket information are available at www.dallastheatercenter.org.

DTC hopes to engage patrons in an immersive experience that highlights the vision of the organization as an inclusive, diverse and innovative theater by embracing this season's theme "Rebrand, Rebuild, Reimagine."

The 2023 Gala chairs, Mickie and Jeff Bragalone will host a special evening of performances, laughter and memories. "We are thrilled to return as chairs of Centerstage 2023!" Mickie shared, "It's hard to believe that it's been seven years since the stars from Hamilton lit up Centerstage and we began the The Custard Award. This year promises to be even better, with stellar performances by our favorite Brierley Resident Acting Company stars and presentation of The Custard Award to the inimitable Robyn Flatt. Robyn is not only the Founder and Executive Artistic Director of the Dallas Children's Theater, but she actually began her legendary theatrical career with The Dallas Theater Center." Jeff adds, "This Gala is going to be so amazing that you'll be talking about it years from now!"

The Linda and Bill Custard award is presented to individuals or organizations that show a sustained and profound commitment to American Theater and support Dallas Theater Center in providing meaningful experiences for diverse communities through the arts. This year's iconic honoree, Robyn Flatt, is Executive Artistic Director and co-founder of Dallas Children's Theater. She has encouraged artistic engagement and provided professional theatrical experiences and education to youth and adults. This year, Ms. Flatt, daughter of Dallas Theater Center founder, Paul Baker, is retiring from over 40 years of service to the artistic community. She will shift to focus on the Baker Idea Institute, an initiative honoring her father, Paul Baker.

The annual gala is a fundraising opportunity for patrons to support the productions and programs of the nationally recognized theater. The evening will include signature drinks, amazing artistry, live music, full dinner and a live auction. Following the festivities, DTC's Young Professionals Board will host the Gala after with event chairs DTCYP President Frankie Benzant and Vice-President Charles Jackson Jr. Music will be provided by DJ Unstable for an extended evening of fun, appetizers and dancing.

Executive Director, Kevin Moriarty says, "Dallas Theater Center's Centerstage Gala is an opportunity for our entire community to come together to celebrate DTC's rich history and provide support for DTC's future. The Gala will be a night of good food, lively performances and dancing. And to make it even more special, I am overjoyed that the Linda and Bill Custard Award will be presented to Robyn Baker Flatt. Robyn is one of the most significant artists in Dallas Theater Center's history. She was a part of DTC's artistic life from the opening of the theater in 1959. As a director, actor, designer and educator, Robyn's contributions to DTC were immense and deeply impactful. In the decades since, she has gone on to forever transform theater and arts education in Dallas through her trailblazing work as Founder and Artistic Director of Dallas Children's Theater. All of us who love theater in Dallas owe a debt of gratitude to Robyn. What a joy it will be to celebrate her legacy at our annual Gala."

One of the leading regional theaters in the country and the 2017 Regional Theatre Tony Award Recipient, Dallas Theater Center (DTC) performs to an audience of more than 100,000 North Texas residents annually. Founded in 1959, DTC is now a resident company of the AT&T Performing Arts Center and presents its Mainstage season at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, designed by REX/OMA, Joshua Prince-Ramus and Rem Koolhaas and at its original home, the Kalita Humphreys Theater, the only freestanding theater designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright. Dallas Theater Center is one of only two theaters in Texas that is a member of the League of Resident Theatres, the largest and most prestigious non-profit professional theater association in the country. Under the leadership of Executive Director Kevin Moriarty and Managing Director Jeffrey Woodward, Dallas Theater Center produces a year-round subscription series of classics, musicals, and new plays and an annual production of A Christmas Carol; extensive education programs, including the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award-winning Project Discovery, a partnership with Southern Methodist University's Meadows School of the Arts; and many community collaborations. In 2017, in collaboration with Ignite/Arts Dallas at SMU Meadows School of the Arts and the AT&T Performing Arts Center, DTC launched Public Works Dallas, a groundbreaking community engagement and participatory theater project designed to deliberately blur the line between professional artists and community members, culminating in an annual production featuring more than 200 Dallas citizens performing a large scale theatrical production. Throughout its history, Dallas Theater Center has produced many new works, including The Texas Trilogy by Preston Jones in 1978; Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men, adapted by Adrian Hall, in 1986; and recent premieres of Miller, Mississippi by Boo Killebrew; Stagger Lee by Will Power; Hood: The Robin Hood Musical Adventure by Douglas Carter Beane and Lewis Flinn; Bella: An American Tall Tale by Kirsten Childs; Penny Candy by Jonathan Norton; Clarkston by Samuel D. Hunter and Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical by Robert Horn, Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. Dallas Theater Center gratefully acknowledges the support of our season sponsors: Texas Instruments and Texas Instruments Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, Lexus, TACA, and Texas Commission on the Arts.

Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: At Dallas Theater Center, all are welcome. We want to be the best place to work and see theater, and to be a positive and transformational force in Dallas and beyond. We stand-up for equity, diversity, and inclusion across our company and community. As a leading national theater, we recognize that building an equitable, diverse, and inclusive environment is central to our relevance and sustainability in the community we serve and love.

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