THE AUDITORIUM THEATRE OF ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY PRESENTS A SPLENDID GALA TO CELEBRATE THE CHICAGO PREMIERE OF MARGARET GARNER SUNDAY, NOV. 2

Gala to Feature Matinee Performance of Toni Morrison and Richard Danielpour’s

Acclaimed Opera starring world-renowned mezzo soprano Denyce Graves,

followed by a Reception, Dinner and Entertainment at the Palmer House Hilton

The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University will host an unforgettable gala on Sunday, Nov. 2 to celebrate the Chicago premiere of Margaret Garner, a new American opera based on one of the most significant and controversial fugitive slave stories in pre-Civil War America.

 The gala begins at 3 p.m. at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Parkway, where guests will gather to enjoy the epic opera.  Internationally renowned mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves stars in the title role, a role written specifically with her in mind.  The opera is directed by Broadway sensation Kenny Leon and features music by Grammy Award-winning composer Richard Danielpour and a libretto by Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison. 

Following the opera, the gala moves to the Palmer House Hilton, 17 E. Monroe, where guests can enjoy a cocktail reception in the beautifully restored and renovated Grand and State Ballrooms before enjoying a superb dinner with the opera’s cast and creators.  Live entertainment caps the extraordinary evening of music, powerful artistry and brilliant performances.

Tables of ten tickets to the gala are available for $5,000, $7,500 or $10,000.   Individual tickets are priced at $500 or $750. For more information, call (312) 922-2110 ext. 368 or e-mail amartinez@auditoriumtheatre.org.

The Margaret Garner Gala co-chairs are Sandra and Timothy Rand and Andrea and William Zopp.  The Gala sponsor is Exelon Corporation.

The Margaret Garner Project co-chairs are James and Mary Bell, Bob and Marjilee Blackwell and Gail Waller and Tim Schwertfeger.  The Margaret Garner Executive Committee chairs are Amina Dickerson and Anna E. Roosevelt. 

The Margaret Garner Gala committee includes Virginia Bobins, Marcus Boggs, Bill and Peggy Brazley, Diane Dinkins-Carr, Lester N. Coney, Amina Dickerson, Sondra Berman Epstein, Margaret Garner, Erin Gilbert, Suzanne Griffith, Ronne Hartfield, Hermene Hartman, Judge Patricia Holmes, Twyler L. Jenkins, Mel Katten, James and Pauline Montgomery, Barbara Pace-Moody, Ann Nash, Isobel Neal, Andre and Dana Rice, Jane M. Saks, Audrey Tuggle and Nancy Yawitz.

Margaret Garner Gala sponsors include Best Portion Foundation, BET Networks, Kraft Foods, Inc., Mesirow Financial, Roosevelt University, Sara Lee Corporation, Schiff Hardin LLP, William Brazley & Associates, Ltd., Nicholas and Kathleen Amatangelo, Bruce and Ann Bachman, Maria Bechily and Scott Hodes, Norman R. and Virginia Bobins, Debbie Bricker, Sidney Epstein and Sondra Berman Epstein, Charles Gardner and Patti Eylar, Ronne Hartfield, Mel and Renee Katten, Jim and Kay Mabie, James and Linda Mitchell, James and Pauline Montgomery, Tom and Ann Nash, Isobel Neal, Sandra and Timothy Rand, George and Joan Segal, Seymour and Nancy Taxman, Ken and Marsha Tucker, Edward and Dia Weil, Robert and Sue Wieseneck and Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media, Columbia College Chicago.