The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Mara Manus) 2008 Summer Gala honored Public Theater Board Member David Rockwell for his outstanding leadership and commitment to the institution for the past 20 years. Chaired by Stephen M. Ross and Daniel H. Stern, the Gala will took place on Tuesday, June 17th at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park on the opening night of HAMLET, the first production of the Shakespeare in the Park summer season.
"
David Rockwell is an amazing artist, a visionary businessman, a deeply committed philanthropist, and a great friend of
The Public Theater," said
Public Theater Artistic Director
Oskar Eustis. "We are proud to honor him."
"
The Public Theater produces Shakespeare with no admission charge (a miracle unto itself!)," said
David Rockwell. "It bustles with new actors and new scripts. It works ceaselessly to build a large, diverse audience of first-time theatergoers. It is a people's theatre in the very best sense of the word, and I am exceptionally proud of my association with it."
The Public's annual Gala is one of the more unique events in New York City, featuring an outdoor buffet dinner in Central Park, followed by a performance at the Delacorte Theater and a post-show cast party at Belvedere Castle overlooking Turtle Pond and the Delacorte. Past gala attendees include President Clinton,
Mayor Bloomberg and other top government officials, CEOs and business leaders of Fortune 500 and other major corporations, established leaders of the social community, young trendsetters and a wide range of celebrities.
Directed by
Oskar Eustis and featuring Tony Award nominee
Michael Stuhlbarg in the title role, this summer's production of HAMLET marks the first time this bard classic has been done in the Park in 33 years. It will run May 27-June 29 with a cast that includes
Margaret Colin as Gertrude,
Andre Braugher as Claudius,
Sam Waterston as Polonius and
Lauren Ambrose as Ophelia. It will be followed in July by a revival of the landmark rock musical HAIR. These two productions were the first to open
The Public Theater's permanent home on Lafayette Street, during the 1967 season.
David Rockwell is the CEO and founder of Rockwell Group, an award-winning architecture and design practice with projects ranging from hotels to hospitals, restaurants to airport terminals and Broadway set designs to consumer products. Current and past projects include the Elinor Bunin-Munroe Film Center at Lincoln Center; interior work for the new Jet Blue terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport; Chambers hotel and Town restaurant (New York); W New York and W Union Square; the Kodak Theatre, home of the Academy Awards ceremony (Los Angeles); the Broadway musicals
Hairspray, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and
Legally Blonde as well as the upcoming Houdini (co-producer and designer); the Children's Hospital at Montefiore; Adour Alain Ducasse at The St. Regis; Nobu; Nobu Fifty Seven; Bar American; Café Gray; Gordon Ramsay's Maze (London); and a collection of wall coverings for Maya Romanoff. His monograph, Pleasure: The Architecture and Design of Rockwell Group, was published by Universe, a division of Rizzoli Books in 2002. Spectacle by
David Rockwell with Bruce Mau – a book examining the history and public fascination with larger-than-life man-made events – was published by Phaidon Press in October 2006.
David Rockwell has been honored this year with the National Design Award by Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt for outstanding achievement in Interior Design; is included in Interior Design magazine's Hall of Fame; and was awarded the Presidential Design Award for his work for the Grand Central Terminal renovation. Rockwell serves as Chairman of the Board of the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA) and is a member of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum's committee on Exhibitions.
Photos by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.
Hamlet Gala
Hamlet Gala
Hamlet Gala
Hamlet Gala
Hamlet Gala
Oskar Eustis and Alec Baldwin
Oskar Eustis
Oskar Eustis and Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Oskar Eustis
Bobby Cannavale
Bobby Cannavale
Bobby Cannavale
Bobby Cannavale
Bobby Cannavale
Josh Charles
Josh Charles
Josh Charles
Josh Charles
Josh Charles and Sophie Flack
Nora Ephron
Michael Grief
Michael Grief and Jonathan Fried
Colin Hanks
Colin Hanks
Colin Hanks
David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang
Dana Ivey
Dana Ivey
Dana Ivey
Craig Lucas
Craig Lucas
Andie MacDowell
Andie MacDowell
Andie MacDowell
Rainey Qualley
Rainey Qualley
Andie MacDowell and Rainey Qualley
Andie MacDowell and Rainey Qualley
Andie MacDowell and Rainey Qualley
Andie MacDowell and Rainey Qualley
Andie MacDowell and Rainey Qualley
Julianna Margulies and Husband Keith Lieberthal
Julianna Margulies and Husband Keith Lieberthal
Julianna Margulies
Julianna Margulies and Husband Keith Lieberthal
Julianna Margulies
Julianna Margulies
Julianna Margulies
Julianna Margulies
Julianna Margulies and Husband Keith Lieberthal
Julianna Margulies and Husband Keith Lieberthal
Julianna Margulies
Julianna Margulies and Husband Keith Lieberthal
Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Emily Mortimer
Emily Mortimer
Emily Mortimer and Allesandro Nivola
Emily Mortimer and Allesandro Nivola
Emily Mortimer and Allesandro Nivola
Emily Mortimer
Allesandro Nivola
Emily Mortimer
Emily Mortimer
Emily Mortimer and Allesandro Nivola
Emily Mortimer and Allesandro Nivola
Jessye Norman
Jessye Norman
Jessye Norman
Jessye Norman
Suzan Lori-Parks
Suzan Lori-Parks
Jim Rado
Jim Rado
Kim Raver
Kim Raver
Kim Raver
Kim Raver
Kim Raver
Kim Raver
Jack O'Brien,David Rockwell, and Jerry Mitchell
Jack O'Brien,David Rockwell, and Jerry Mitchell
David Rockwell
Jerry Mitchell
Jack O'Brien
Jack O'Brien,David Rockwell, and Jerry Mitchell
Daphne Rubin-Vega
Daphne Rubin-Vega
Daphne Rubin-Vega
Daphne Rubin-Vega
Daphne Rubin-Vega
Daphne Rubin-Vega
Daphne Rubin-Vega
Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols
Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols
Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols
Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols
Diane Sawyer
Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols
Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols
Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols
Diane Sawyer
Mike Nichols
Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols
Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols
Julie White
Julie White
Julie White
Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner
Hamlet Gala
