Photo Flash: Inside the 2015 NYU Tisch Gala with Michael C. Hall, Ewan McGregor, Lauren Graham & More

More than 400 alumni, donors and supporters gathered at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall last week for the 2015 NYU Tisch School of the Arts Gala, honoring Michael C. Hall, Steven Lutvak and Robert L. Freedman, with a special tribute to Mel Silverman. The evening was a celebration of the dreams of NYU Tisch students, both past and present, and featured performances by current students and alumni of NYU Tisch and the cast of A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder. The event was hosted by Anna Deavere Smithand included presenters Peter Krause, Winnie Holzman and Tyne Daly. Also in attendance were Ewan McGregor,Lauren Graham and Morgan Macgregor. Over $1.1 millionwas raised to support the education of talented young artists from around the world.

"It was a joyful evening for the Tisch School of the Arts. The gala allows us to raise money to put students first," saidDean Allyson Green. "Faculty, friends, students and alumni filled the stage to pay tribute to our incredible honorees, and our generous supporters filled the room to ensure that we are able to continue to lower the financial barriers for Tisch students."

Michael C. Hall, '96 (MFA Graduate Acting), received the Tisch Big Apple Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Performing Arts. Hall is known for HBO's Six Feet Under, Showtime's Dexter and his most recent role on Broadway in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

"It is an honor to be recognized tonight. I would not be where I am were it not for Tisch," said Hall, after accepting the award from his Six Feet Under co-star and on-screen brother, Peter Krause '90 (MFA, Graduate Acting). "The box of tools, the bag of tricks and the whispering voices in my head and gut all borne at Tisch continue to evolve and fortify me."

Steven Lutvak '83 and Robert L. Freeman '83, alumni of the school's first Graduate Musical Theatre Writing program and co-creators of the 2014 Tony Award-winning musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder, received the Tisch Big Apple Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatrical Arts.

"I wouldn't be here without NYU," said Lutvak, reflecting on his family roots at the school and the inspiration that teachers at NYU Tisch provided for the award-winning Gentleman's Guide.Tyne Daly, currently starring in It Shoulda Been You, presented Lutvak with his award, calling him "loving, tenacious, adventurous and kind."

"I wouldn't have had the career I had without Tisch," said Freedman, echoing Lutvak and Hall when accepting his award from his NYU Tisch classmate and writer of Wicked, Winnie Holzman '83 (MFA, Musical Theatre Writing). Speaking of his time at the school, he said, "We had so many aspirations, so many big dreams. All of us were dreamers who were given wings by Tisch."

This year's event also paid tribute to Mel Silverman, who established the Mel Silverman Scholarship of Tisch School of the Arts in 1984, and has provided support to nearly 50 students in Tisch's Graduate Acting, Graduate Musical Theatre Writing and Graduate Film programs. Along with Michael C. Hall, notable alumni who have benefited from Silverman's support include David Costabile, Sam Catlin and Mahershala Ali.

Photo Credit: NYU Photo Bureau: ©Hollenshead