A.R.T. Raises Record-Breaking $1.4 Million At April 1 Gala

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the leadership of Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Executive Producer Diane Borger, raised a record $1.4 million in support of the theater's artistic, community, and education programs at its annual fundraising gala held last Monday, April 1. More than 500 guests attended the event at the Boch Center Wang Theatre that celebrated Paulus' 10th anniversary season and honored Harvard President Emerita Drew Gilpin Faust with the theater's Angel Award.

RoAnn Costin, Fay & Bill Shutzer, and Lis Tarlow & Steve Kay co-chaired the gala that recognized Faust for elevating the role of the arts on the University's campus and beyond, as Faust dedicated much of her tenure as President to developing a more vibrant arts culture at Harvard. During her acceptance speech, Faust remarked, "I've seen how the arts can bring us together around issues that seem impossible to resolve...It is my hope that what we do at Harvard in the arts and in theater will somehow be an inspiration, a model, a contagion for the rest of the world."

"How lucky I was to arrive at the A.R.T. when you were president," Paulus said to Faust during her remarks. "You have been a mentor, and a guiding light for me for the past ten years." Paulus also acknowledged the A.R.T.'s Boards of Trustees and Advisors, Terrie and Bradley Bloom; Harvard partners President Larry Bacow, Provost Alan Garber, Dean Nitin Noria, Joe O'Donnell; and David and Stacey Goel. "I am humbled by the support in this room for this theater, our mission, and my journey here," Paulus said to those in attendance. "Thank you so much for coming out this evening to celebrate this theater, Harvard University, and the arts."

The evening began with a performance by from The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess by Sumayya Ali (The Black Clown, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess), who was followed by Desi Oakley (Waitress national tour), Betsy Wolfe (Waitress on Broadway), and Elizabeth Stanley (Jagged Little Pill at A.R.T. and on Broadway this fall) who surprised Paulus and the audience with music from Waitress and Jagged Little Pill, two world premiere musicals that were developed and premiered at the A.R.T. Davóne Tines and members of the cast of The Black Clown-also developed and premiered at the A.R.T.-performed two songs that brought the audience to their feet.

The gala's live auction included packages to see the New York premiere of The Black Clown at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival; a private dinner with Gloria Steinem and Paulus before the opening night of A.R.T.'s 2019/20 production of Gloria: A Life; tickets to Network on Broadway and a meet-and-greet with Bryan Cranston (All the Way); and a Jagged Little Pill Broadway opening night experience.

Additional notable guests at the event included by Harvard President Lawrence Bacow and his wife Adele; David E. and Stacey Goel, who recently gifted $100 million to Harvard for a new research and performance space for the A.R.T.; Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria; Harvard basketball coach Tommy Amaker and Stephanie Pinder-Amaker; Chair of the A.R.T.'s Board of Trustees Andy Ory and Linda Hammett Ory; Terrie and Bradley Bloom; Former Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Joe O'Donnell and Katherine O'Donnell; Harvard Provost Alan Garber and Anne Yahanda; Harvard President Emerita Drew Gilpin Faust and Charles Rosenberg; Barr Foundation Co-founder Barbara Hostetter; A.R.T. Trustee Ann Gund and Graham Gund, Boston Globe Managing Director Linda Henry; A.R.T. Trustee Paul Buttenwieser and Katie Buttenwieser, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Jill Hornor, car magnate and arts philanthropist Ernie Boch; developer John Moriarty and Carol Moriarty; A.R.T. Trustee and Gala Co-Chair RoAnn Costin; A.R.T. Trustee Mike Sheehan; Gala Co-Chair and A.R.T. Trustee Fay Shutzer and Bill Shutzer; Gala Co-Chair and A.R.T. Advisor Lis Tarlow and Steve Kay; Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Susan L. Graham; A.R.T. Trustee Dan Nova and Annette Nova; philanthropist Barbara Jordan; novelist Alice Hoffman; The Honorable Patti Saris; Director of The Boston Foundation Brian Conway and Karen Conway; Vice-Chair of Harvard University's Board of Overseers Gwill York and Paul Maeder; A.R.T. Trustee Alan Jones and Ashley Garrett; The Honorable Denise Casper; and The Honorable David Thorne, Former Ambassador of the United States to Italy, and Rose Thorne.

Special contributions to the evening were made by in-kind donors including The Boch Center, The Catered Affair, The Graphic Group, Ilex Designs, Martignetti Companies, and PEAK Event Services.

ABOUT AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATER

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University is a leading force in the American theater, producing groundbreaking work in Cambridge and beyond. 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 as the Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director and Executive Producer Diane Borger, A.R.T. seeks to expand the boundaries of theater by producing transformative theatrical experiences, always including the audience as a central partner.

Throughout its history, 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, and sixteen other Tony Awards since 2012; a Pulitzer Prize; a Jujamcyn Prize for outstanding contribution to the development of creative talent; the Regional Theater Tony Award; and more than 100 Elliot Norton and IRNE Awards.

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 collaboration with Harvard's Center for the Environment that will result in the development of new work over several years. Under Paulus' 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, 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. mentors students in the Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club working at the Loeb Drama Center and OBERON, and plays a central role in Harvard's undergraduate Theater, Dance & Media concentration, teaching courses in directing, dramatic literature, acting, voice, design, and dramaturgy.

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

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

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