Patti LuPone & More to Join Atlantic Theater Company 2024 Gala

Atlantic Theater Company will present their 2024 Gala on Monday, April 29, 2024 at The Plaza. This year, Atlantic is celebrating with an evening of delicious food, drink, and delightful entertainment in one of New York City’s most elegant settings.

Featured performers for the evening will include Patti LuPone, Natalie Venetia Belcon & the band of Buena Vista Social Club™ the Musical featuring Renesito Avich, David Oquendo, Sebastian Guerrero, Román Díaz, Guido Gonzalez, Mauricio Herrera, Hery Paz, Gustavo Schartz, and Eddie Venegas, Jamestown Revival, and Daisy the Great, with special guests Saheem Ali, Patricia Delgado, Justin Levine, Justin Peck, Marco Ramirez, and Adam Rapp. Additional performers and special guests to be announced.

All artists are subject to change.

Atlantic’s 2024 Gala will begin at 6:30pm at The Plaza with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, followed by a three-course dinner at 7:30pm, a thrilling live auction, and live performances. Auction packages will include luxurious travel, behind-the-scenes access to theater premieres, and premium sports experiences with special guests. The Gala Board Committee consists of Ilona Nemeth, Annie Pell, Betsy Pitts, and Hilary Polk.

Proceeds from the Gala will support Atlantic’s productions, new play and musical development, and arts education initiatives. To reserve your spot, visit https://atlantictheater.org/support/gala/ or email gala@atlantictheater.org

 BIOGRAPHIES:

Saheem Ali

(Special Guest) is a proud immigrant from Kenya. He received a Tony Award nomination for directing the Pulitzer Prize-winning Fat Ham on Broadway, the 2023 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Directing, as well as Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel nominations for Fat Ham’s Off-Broadway run at The Public Theater, where he serves as the Associate Artistic Director/Resident Director. His production of Merry Wives (Shakespeare in the Park) was recorded for PBS Great Performances and was the subject of the documentary Reopening Night (HBO Max). Recent productions include Goddess (Berkeley Rep), Nollywood Dreams (MCC), Romeo y Julieta, Shipwreck and Richard II (radio plays). Other productions: Fires in The Mirror (Signature Theater), The Rolling Stone (Lincoln Center Theater), Passage (Soho Rep), Fireflies (Atlantic Theater Company), In Our Wounds (MTC), Tartuffe (Playmakers Rep), Where Storms Are Born (WTF), and Kill Move Paradise(National Black Theater). He is a Usual Suspect at New York Theater Workshop, a Sir John Gielgud SDCF Fellow, and a Shubert Fellow.

Renesito Avich

(Performer) is a Cuban singer-songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer, and 2022 Latin Grammy nominee based in Florida-USA. Renesito’s most recent music release "TRES" is currently nominated for the 2023 Latin Grammys under the category of Best Instrumental Album. Renesito is also known as one of the greatest Cuban Tres Guitar players worldwide. He has collaborated and performed with stellar musicians including Oscar de León, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Willy Chirino, Albita Rodriguez, Leoni Torres, Rafael "El Pollo" Brito, and Paquito D'Rivera.

 Natalie Venetia Belcon

(Performer). Credits include – National Tour: Wicked (Madame Morrible). Broadway: Matilda (Mrs. Phelps), Avenue Q (Original Cast as Gary Coleman), Rent (Joanne). Off-Broadway: Ahrens and Flaherty's The Glorious Ones at Lincoln Center. Regional: Ahrens and Flaherty's new musical (adapted by Frank Galati), Knoxville, at Asolo Repertory Theatre. Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Recurring and guest starring roles on a number of TV shows and featured roles in a few films. PBS Great Performances: Play On!

Patricia Delgado

(Special Guest), Cuban-American, born in Miami, Florida was a principal dancer with the Miami City Ballet, where she performed works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, among others as well as the classical works, Coppelia, Giselle, and Don Quixote, and the role of Juliet in John Cranko's Romeo and Juliet. She has created feature works with choreographers Alexei Ratmansky, Justin Peck, Pam Tanowitz, Jamar Roberts, John Heginbotham, among others. She performed in the musical Brigadoon, directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon at Encores! She starred in the music video “The Dark Side of the Gym” for The National and has appeared as a guest performer on “The Tonight Show”. As a repetiteur for Justin Peck, she staged In Creases on Boston Ballet, Ballet Arizona, and for members of ABT and Heatscape in Dresden, at the Semperoper Ballett. She is the Associate Choreographer on Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. She was an Associate Producer on the 2020 Broadway revival of West Side Story. She is a member of the dance faculty at The Juilliard School and Artistic Advisor of Adriana Pierce’s Queer The Ballet.

 ROMÁN DÍAZ

(Performer). Cuban born master percussionist Román Díaz is a “living repository” of Afro-Cuban culture. He is a noted scholar of Cuban religious and folkloric music as well as a composer and performer of contemporary Afro-Cuban music and Jazz .  He has performed and recorded with Cuban diva Mercedíta Valdes, Canadian Jane Bunnett, Juan Carlos Formell, Paquito D’Rivera, and folkloric artist, Orlando “Puntilla” Rios, and Pianist Danílo Pérez. He has also recorded with the Afro-Cuban folkloric groups; Yoruba Andabo, Raices Profundas and Los Marqueses de Atares. He has also performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Centerand the Smithsonian Museum. RomanDiazBata.com

DAISY THE GREAT

(Performer). As Daisy the Great, Kelley Nicole Dugan and Mina Walker make folk-inflected indie rock that spans a multitude of moods—often clever, devastating, or both simultaneously, spanning harmony-laden folk pop to powerhouse indie rock balladry. The pair first met as acting majors at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where they studied at Atlantic Acting School, and have since grown into a 6-piece rock outfit with over 250 million streams worldwide. “Record Player” by Daisy the Great (featuring AJR) was released as a new version of Daisy the Great’s indie hit “The Record Player Song” in 2021. The song charted as a Top 6 Alternative single, leading Kelley and Mina to perform on both “The Kelly Clarkson Show” and “Dick Clark’s New Year's Rockin’ Eve”. The song was subsequently certified as a Gold record by the RIAA in 2023. Daisy the Great has since released their second full length album ‘All You Need Is Time’, performing the album’s opening song, “Time Machine”, for Steven Colbert’s “Late Show Me Music”. They have recently completed full US and European headline tours, performed at numerous festivals (including Lollapalooza, Firefly, and Reeperbahn), and supported on multiple tours opening for The Kooks, Duran Duran, Half Alive, Indigo Girls, AJR, and more. Their most recent release, the ‘Tough Kid EP’ is out now on S-Curve Records. More on Daisy the Great at daisythegreat.com / IG: @daisythegreatband

 GUIDO GONZALEZ

(Performer) has been performing and teaching in the New York City area since 1985. He has participated in many diverse musical settings as a trumpet player and teacher. Guido has performed with artists such as Tito Puente, La Sonora Matancera, Celia Cruz, Daniel Santos, Ray Barreto, Pete El Conde Rodriguez, Ray Mantilla, Ben E. King, and Grupo Folklorico Experimental and Eddie Palmieri. He has performed in Broadway shows such as The Capeman, On Your Feet, Tina the Musical, and Mr. Saturday Night. Guido has a Masters in Jazz Performance degree from Queen's College and a BA from Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus. Some of his former teachers include Victor Paz, Phil Gilbert, Al de Goyer, Jimmy Owens, Laurie Frink, and Michael Philip Mossman. 

 SEBASTIAN GUERRERO

(Performer). Sebastian Guerrero's background is a true example of the American cultural experience. He was born in Brazil to a Peruvian father, American mother and raised in New Jersey. As an artist, he honors the many cultures that influence him through his music. Sebastian has studied with master percussionists in New Orleans, New York City, Cuba, Brazil and Peru, giving him a broad musical vocabulary. He is an experienced performer on drumset, Latin percussion, and classical percussion. He has recorded, performed and toured with many artists such as Culture Club, Meshell Ndegeocello, Boy George, Cyndi Lauper, Aguadulce Dance Theater, The Chesterfields, Tres del Solar, and Grupo Pinta y Canela.  His Broadway debut was as a featured on-stage percussionist with the 2009 ballroom dance spectacular, Burn the Floor. Other Broadway credits include, On Your Feet, the Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan and the 2018 Tony Award winner for best revival musical, Once On This Island.

 MAURICIO HERRERA

(Performer). Born in Holguin, Cuba, Mauricio Herrera Tamayo is a Grammy Nominee Drummer, Percussionist, Vocalist and Educator with over 25 years of professional experience. Taking his first musical steps with the violin at the age of 7, he began studying percussion by the age of 14; graduating from the Jose Maria Ochoa Conservatory in Holguin and moving to La Habana to broaden his horizons, where he played, toured, and recorded with Cuba’s greatest artists. https://www.mauricioherreramusic.com/

Justin Levine

(Special Guest). Recent projects include: The Outsiders on Broadway (book, music and lyrics, music supervision, orchestration & arrangements), Moulin Rouge! (music supervisor, arranger, orchestrator; Tony Award), Shakespeare in the Park's A Midsummer Night's Dream (original music; Delacorte Theater; Drama Desk nom), VEVO X LORDE: Melodrama (vocal arranger/supervisor, conceived by Lorde, Electric Lady Studios), Contemporary Color (music supervisor, conceived by David Byrne, Barclay's Center and Air Canada Center), Bonfire Night (book, music and lyrics, NAMT), The Weight of Smoke (original music with Matt Stine, choreographed by Doug Elkins for Paul Taylor American Modern Dance, Lincoln Center), Pepper and Sam (co-conceived with Salty Brine, Ars Nova, Joe's Pub), Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (music director, co-orchestrator, cast, Public Theater and Broadway), Here Lies Love (music director, Public Theater, National Theater, Seattle Rep, MassMoca), Love's Labour's Lost (music director, co-orchestrator, cast, Delacorte), Robber Bridegroom (music director, co-orchestrator with Martin Lowe, Roundabout Theater), Murder Ballad (music director, orchestrator, Manhattan Theatre Club and Union Square Theater).

Patti LuPone

(Performer) is a three-time Tony Award winner for her performances as Joanne in Marianne Elliott’s award-winning production of the Stephen Sondheim George Furth musical Company, Madame Rose in the most recent Broadway revival of the Jule Styne-Stephen Sondheim-Arthur Laurents classic Gypsy,and the title role in the original Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Evita. Her NY stage credits include: War Paint (Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations); Shows for Days; The Seven Deadly Sins ( NY City Ballet); Company (NY Philharmonic); Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Tony, Drama Desk, OCC Award nominations); Sweeney Todd (Tony, Drama Desk, OCC nominations); Noises Off; Master Class; Anything Goes (Tony nomination., Drama Desk Award); Oliver!; Accidental Death of An Anarchist; and The Robber Bridegroom (Tony and Drama Desk nominations). She has enjoyed a long association with David Mamet, starring on Broadway in productions of his plays The Anarchist, The Old Neighborhood, and The Water Engine; Off-Broadway in Edmond and The Woods; as well as in his films Heist and State and Main. London: Company (Olivier Award, WhatsOn Stage Award); Master Class; Sunset Boulevard(Olivier Award nomination); Les Miserables and The Cradle Will Rock (Olivier Award for her performances in both productions). Opera: The Ghosts of Versailles (LA Opera), To Hell and Back (SF Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra), The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (LA Opera-debut), Regina (Kennedy Center). Film: Ari Aster’s Beau is Afraid (opposite Joaquin Phoenix), The School for Good and Evil (Netflix), Last Christmas, Cliffs of Freedom, The Comedian, Parker, Union Square, Driving Miss Daisy, Witness. TV/Streaming: Marvel’s “Agatha” (upcoming), “Hollywood,” “Pose,” “Mom,” “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” “Penny Dreadful” (Critics Choice Award nomination), “Girls,” “American Horror Story (“NYC” and “Coven”),” “30 Rock,” “Glee,” “Frasier” (Emmy nomination), four seasons as Libby Thatcher on ABCs “Life Goes On.” She is a founding member of both the Drama Division of The Juilliard School and John Houseman’s The Acting Company, and the author of the NY Times best-seller Patti LuPone: A Memoir.

David Oquendo

(Performer). A native of Havana, Cuba, David is a highly accomplished and respected interpreter of many diverse styles of Cuban music. As a guitarist, singer, composer and arranger he rose to fame performing and recording with Paquito D’ Rivera, Johnny Ventura, Compay Segundo, Maestro Chico O’Farrill and Marc Anthony to mention a few. He is recipient of a Grammy Award for the album Tropicana’s Nights with Paquito D’Rivera, three Grammy Nominations for Heart of a Legend with Chico O’Farrill, Bebop Timba with Raphael Cruz and Entre Colegas with Andy Gonzalez, also three Latin Grammy Nominations for his production Raices Habaneras, 50 Years of Mambo of Latin Jazz USA and Paquito D’Rivera Presenta Las Hermanas Marquez with Paquito D’ Rivera.

HERY PAZ

(Performer) is a Cuban multi-instrumentalist, composer and visual artist. At the heart of his artistic practice we find a resolute dedication to expand his cultural philosophy, crystalizing an amalgam of expressions between improvisation, composition, poetry and visual arts. His playing is imbued with a depth of purpose, a sense of patience and a willingness to venture into the unknown. Paz is an integral element of the creative music scene in New York City; where he has worked with artists such as, Tom Rainey, Dave Liebman, William Parker, Cooper Moore, Ralph Alessi, Francisco Mela, Leo Genovese, Thomas Morgan, Román Díaz, Kris Davis, Dan Weiss, Miguel Zenón, Juan De Marcos Gonzales, John Hebert, Gerald Cleaver and Joe Morris. www.herypaz.com

Justin Peck 

(Special Guest) is a Tony Award winning choreographer, director, filmmaker, and dancer based in New York City. He is currently the acting Resident Choreographer of New York City Ballet. Justin choreographed the 2018 Broadway revival of Carousel. In 2014, Justin was the subject of the documentary BALLET 422, which presents Justin’s craft and creative process as a choreographer, as he creates New York City Ballet’s 422nd commissioned dance. Peck choreographed the feature films Red Sparrow (2016) starring Jennifer Lawrence and directed by Francis Lawrence; West Side Story (2021) in collaboration with director Steven Spielberg; and Maestro (2022) in collaboration with Bradley Cooper. In 2018, Justin directed the New York Times GREAT PERFORMERS Series. Justin’s honors include: the National Arts Award (2018), the Golden Plate Honor from the Academy of Achievement (2019), the Bessie Award for his ballet Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes (2015), the Gross Family Prize for his ballet Everywhere We Go (2014), the World Choreography Award for West Side Story (2022), and the Tony Award for his work on Broadway’s Carousel (2018).

 Marco Ramirez

(Special Guest). Marco’s play, The Royale, was produced at Lincoln Center in 2016 under the direction of Rachel Chavkin. It was honored with Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards, and the play has received over thirty subsequent productions. He’s a Miami native, NYU graduate, and a former Juilliard Playwriting fellow. In television, he’s a WGA and Emmy Award-nominated writer, with credits that include “Sons of Anarchy,” “Orange is the New Black,” “Daredevil,” and the upcoming “La Máquina,” starring Gael García Bernal and Luna/">Diego Luna.

Adam Rapp

(Special Guest). An acclaimed playwright, Adam Rapp was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Red Light Winter and a Tony Award finalist for The Sound Inside. He is the recipient of the Benjamin H. Danks Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, among other honors. In addition to his numerous plays, he is the author of the novels Know Your Beholder and The Year of Endless Sorrows and several YA novels, including Under the Wolf, Under the Dog, a finalist for The Los Angeles Times Book Prize. For television, he has written and produced for “The L Word,” “In Treatment,” and “The Looming Tower”, and is currently executive producer and showrunner for “American Rust: Broken Justice”. Born in Chicago and raised in nearby Joliet, Illinois, Rapp now splits his time between New York City and upstate New York.

Jamestown Revival

(Performer) is an internationally recognized Americana/Roots Rock band from Austin, TX. who describe their music as “Southern & Garfunkel.” Jamestown Revival's latest release, Young Man, is the band's first album without electric guitars and their first to be recorded in a studio. With themes like coming of age and settling into an identity, Young Man was produced by Robert Ellis and Josh Block (Leon Bridges, Caamp). The band has performed at iconic music festivals, such as Farm Aid, Coachella, Stagecoach and Lollapalooza, and has performed with the likes of the Zac Brown Band, Nathaniel Rateliff, Ryan Bingham and Willie Nelson. Jamestown Revival has released three critically acclaimed albums (Utah, The Education Of A Wandering Man, and San Isabel) and two equally praised EPs (Field Guide To Loneliness, an intimate collection of songs reflecting recent times where human contact was limited more than ever, and Fireside With Louis L'Amour, featuring songs inspired by stories from author Louis L'Amour).

GUSTAVO “CHACHO” SCHARTZ

(Performer) was born in Argentina, and started playing the guitar at the age of 9. The beginning of his musical path was the folk music of Argentina, enriched with his dad Jazz records, and Brazilian music. Gustavo spent the best part of 1997 in Havana, Cuba, right at the time of the Buena Vista Social Club first album debut. Then he traveled from Cuba to New York, where he performed, recorded and toured with many of the Cuban top musicians, such as David Oquendo, Paquito D’ Rivera, Candido Camero, José Fajardo, Pedrito Martinez and many more. Chacho was honored to be part of the Buena Vista Social Club™musical.

 EDDIE VENEGAS

(Performer). Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Eddie Venegas is a New York-based violinist, violist, trombonist, and composer and a proud product of New York City's multicultural music scene. He is a founding member of the Sweet Plantain String Quartet and the salsa band Los Hacheros, two groups with whom he has been writing music and touring internationally for the past 10 years. Venegas is also an active Broadway musician, playing in the pit for recent shows including Ain't Too Proud, Some Like it Hot, and A Beautiful Noise. Previously he toured for many years in salsa star Marc Anthony's band. For more, visit:www.eddievenegas.com