Bay Street Theater's 26th Annual Summer Gala Was A Success

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts held the 26th Annual Summer Gala in Sag Harbor on the Long Wharf on July 15, 2017. The event benefits Bay Street's educational and theatrical programs. The evening included special performances as well as a silent auction, cocktail party, live "Fantasy Auction," dinner and dancing.

Honorary chairs for the evening were two of Broadway's most celebrated names, producer Daryl Roth (Indecent, Hello, Dolly!, Present Laughter) and actress Betty Buckley (Cats, Sunset Boulevard, Bay Street's Grey Gardens).

Richard Kind (Amazon's Red Oaks, The Producers, Bay Street's Enter Laughing) was the Celebrity Auctioneer, and Ashlie Atkinson (FX's Rescue Me, BAM's As You Like It/The Tempest/The Bridge Project), star of last summer's world premiere of The Forgotten Woman at Bay Street Theater, was the Emcee for the evening.

The Gala honored Board member Christine Wächter-Campbell & Bill Campbell, who were presented the award by Karen Brooks Hopkins. Tracy Mitchell, Bay Street Theater's Executive Director, presented the award to Bay Street Theater patrons J.C. Compton & Nicholas Wentworth. Tony award winner Elizabeth Ashley (HBO's Treme, Barefoot in the Park, You Can't Take It With You) presented the award to Broadway director Michael Wilson (Bay Street's Grey Gardens, Broadway's The Trip To Bountiful, The Who's Tommy).

The evening included special appearances and performances by Broadway stars. Betty Buckley revisited her thrilling performance as Big Edie with the song, "The Cake I Got," from Grey Gardens. She also sang the new original song "Christmas at the Klostners," written by Stephen Schwartz and Alan Menken, which was a live auction item won by a patron at last year's Bay Street Theater Gala. Obie award-winning actress Lois Smith (The Grapes of Wrath, Marjorie Prime, HBO's True Blood) read a monologue from Tennessee William's play Orpheus Descending, the role she created in the first production of the play on Broadway in 1957. Kyle Barisich (Phantom of the Opera) sang "Night and Day," Edward O'Blenis (currently in Intimate Apparel) read an excerpt from Shakespeare about creativity. The music director for the evening was David Caddick (Phantom of the Opera). BodyStories: Teresa Fellion Dance Company led the attendees from the theater to the tent in a festive atmospheric dance.

Also in attendance was the cast for Intimate Apparel, currently on stage at Bay Street Theater through July 30. Kelly McCreary (Grey's Anatomy, Passing Strange), Portia (Ruined, McReele, Our Lady of 121st Street), Blake DeLong (Othello, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812), Julia Motyka (Bay Street's Travesties, Richard III), Edward O'Blenis (Uncle Vanya, Tall Grass), and Shayna Small (The Colored Museum).

"The annual gala was a wonderful event and Bay Street's only fundraiser of the year," says Executive Director Tracy Mitchell. "Besides being a fun night in the theater and on the Wharf, the gala is the cornerstone of our fundraising allowing us to support more than thirty other community organizations on the East End. We are so very grateful to Mayor Schroeder and village trustees for use of the Wharf for this important night."

The evening included both a silent and live auction which featured a week at the beach in St. Barth's for 4 at a luxury 2 bedroom WIMCO villa with unparalleled concierge service and complimentary provisioning, a personalized original song written about the winner by Tony Award nominated composer Andrew Lippa, a Viking River Cruise along the romantic Danube for 2, accommodations for 2 for 5 nights in Venice, Italy, a walk on role in Bay Street's summer production of Kiss Me, Kate starring Melissa Errico, along with driving experiences by Tesla and Maserati, tickets to Broadway shows such as Come From Away, Hamilton with a backstage tour, Hello, Dolly!, dining, spa packages and more exciting and unique items.

This year's sponsors (list in progress) include: AIG Wines, Channing Daughters Winery, Hamptons H2O Water, Ketel One Vodka, Sag Harbor Rum, Southampton Publick House, Land's End, Oban, Peconic Landing, Landscape Details, Viking River Cruises, Searles Graphics, Sterling Affair, PSEG LI, Bridgehampton National Bank, Sag Harbor Florist, Hamptons Magazine, Dan's Papers, Purist, Beach Magazine, and WIMCO Villa in St Barth's.

BodyStories: The Teresa Fellion Dance is a contemporary dance company that captures and communicates universal human encounters through dynamic, purposeful movement in order to inspire audiences to physically sense emotional and psychological aspects of the human condition on stage. We are a multifaceted, highly physical company laced with provocative, emotional, political and humorous edges.

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts is a year-round, not-for-profit professional theater and community cultural center which endeavors to innovate, educate, and entertain a diverse community through the practice of the performing arts. We serve as a social and cultural gathering place, an educational resource, and a home for a community of artists.

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