Feature: Bay Street Honors Mercedes Ruehl and Harris Yulin with The Joel Grey Lifetime Achievement Award at Bay Street

On Saturday, July 16, 2022, Bay Street Board Member Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley hosted a celebration at their East Hampton estate for Bay Street Theater, honoring Mercedes Ruehl and Harris Yulin. Ruehl and Yulin were honored with Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center For The Arts's Joel Grey Lifetime Achievement Award as actors and for their many years of support for the East End's arts community. The event also included a sneak peek at the new Broadway-bound musical Double Helix, performed by Julia Motyka and Madeline Myers (playwright/composer). Scott Schwartz directs the new musical Double Helix was featured as part of Bay Street's Title Wave: 2022 New Works Festival.

Mercedes Ruehl is the recipient of the highest accolades for acting, including an Academy Award, Tony Award, Drama Desk Awards, and Obie Awards, among others. Harris Yulin is an Emmy Award-winning actor who has appeared in over one hundred films, including Scarface, Ghostbusters, and Clear and Present Danger. Ruehl and Yulin have appeared on the Hamptons' stages of Bay Street Theater, Guild Hall, and most recently at the Suffolk Theater.

The celebration was a fundraising event for The Bay Street Theater, a nonprofit professional theater in Sag Harbor, NY, founded in 1991 by Sybil Christopher, Emma Walton Hamilton, and Stephen Hamilton. Tracy Mitchell has served as Bay Street's Executive Director since 2008, Scott Schwartz is the current Artistic Director, and Steve Todrys chairs the Board of Trustees. The Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center of the Arts is a professional theater and community cultural center year-round. The Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center For The Arts serve as a beacon, a social and cultural gathering place, an educational resource, a center for new work development, and an ever-expanding home for a community of artists.

The evening featured specialty cocktails and sit-down dinner for an intimate group on the terrace overlooking Comley and Lane's lush four-acre grounds. Joining the festivities were Bay Street patrons and board members, including Steve Kroft (60 MInutes), Jennet Conant (New York Times Best Selling Author), Kristen Lowman (Frasier), Susan Lacy (American Masters), Cristina Fontanelli (Opera Star), Riki Roer, Steven Todrys, Wendy Hashmall, Tracy Mitchell, Scott Schwartz, Kim Fink, Mick Johnson, Mike Billings, Robert Cyruli, Melissa Cohn, Bill Harts, Kathy Ferguson, Mark Zurack, Frankie Lane, James Blinken, Lauren & Bob Roberts, Tom Bock (East Hampton Fire Chief) and others.

Comley and Lane are the founders of BroadwayHD, an online streaming service for theater fans. They have collectively produced over 40 films, and 45 Broadway shows, garnering nine Tony Awards and another 15 Tony nominations. They have also won Olivier Awards, Drama Desk, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for their stage productions. Lane has been a co-owner of Broadway's famous Palace Theater for almost 40 years. Lane was recently asked to join the prestigious board of Bay Street Theater and was thrilled to commit has been a long-time supporter and actor in their productions.

For more information on Bay Street Theater, see www.baystreet.org

Photos: Rob Rich

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