Pierre Jean Gonzalez Will Receive The Award For Artistic Excellence And Inspiration From GALA Hispanic Theatre

GALA Hispanic Theatre will host its annual Noche de Estrellas benefit event honoring three extraordinary leaders at St. Francis Hall on Monday, May 8th at 6:30 pm. The 2023 honorees are Pierre Jean Gonzalez, starring in the national tour of Hamilton and Co-Founder of DominiRican Productions, to receive the Award for Artistic Excellence and Inspiration; Barbara Harman, Executive Director, Harman Family Foundation and Founder of the Catalogue for Philanthropy Greater Washington to receive the Award for Philanthropy in the Community; and Karen Zacarías award-winning playwright and advocate for the Latinx arts to receive the Abel López Leadership Award in Latino Arts.

Proceeds from the event support GALA's youth education programs, which include the Student Matinee program that serves 9,000 students and teachers in the metropolitan area, and the Paso Nuevo program, an arts and cultural enrichment program for Latino and multicultural teens in the District of Columbia. Paso Nuevo was recognized with the 2012 National Arts and Humanities Youth Arts Program Award by former First Lady Michelle Obama.

In addition to the Honoree Awards, Noche de Estrellas will feature performances by artists from GALA's production KUMANANA! and students of Paso Nuevo.

Silent and live auctions include exotic getaways, theater tickets, sumptuous dinners, and unique experiences. The event is black tie optional and will be attended by several Latin American Ambassadors and international diplomats, the Mayor of the District of Columbia, leaders of DC's arts and business communities, corporate representatives, and the press.

The Noche de Estrellas event will be held at St. Francis Hall at 11340 Quincy Street NE, Washington, D.C., from 6:30-9:30 pm. Free parking is available.

Master of Ceremonies for the Noche de Estrellas is José Sueiro, Managing Director Metro D.C. Hispanic Contractors Assoc. The guest auctioneer is Mauricio Pita, Film & Theatre Artist.

THE HONOREES

Pierre Jean Gonzalez is a stage, film, and television actor, director, and producer. He is also an advocate for Latinx and LGBTQ+ visibility and inclusion. Pierre is currently portraying the role of Alexander Hamilton in the national tour of Hamilton. He was recently named Best Actor at the Philadelphia Theater Critics Awards. Broadway World reviewed his performance writing, "Pierre Jean Gonzalez as Alexander Hamilton brought a self-assuredness and intensity to the role." Pierre received the 2020 Best Actor for NBC's 2nd Annual Nosotros Ya Tu Sabes Monologue Slam. Pierre's television credits include NCIS: NOLA, FBI, Gotham, The Mysteries of Laura, The Detour, and POSE. Some of his favorite theater credits include the role of Usnavi de la Vega in In The Heights and Mace in The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity.

Pierre co-founded DominiRican Productions in 2020 with his fiancé, fellow actor Cedric Leiba Jr, with the intention of creating more Afro-Latinx and Queer representation behind and in front of the camera. In recognition of their mission, The Advocate selected Cedric and Pierre as "Champions of Pride" and Good Morning America included them in their "Inspiration List" of people making LGBTQ+ history. DominiRican Productions' first short films "release" and "Rhythm is Gonna Get Who?" both directed by Pierre, received multiple film festival awards and accolades and are now being considered by streaming services. Filming on two new original screenplays is complete and in post-production, with the films scheduled for the festival award circuit this summer.

Pierre received his BFA in Acting from Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts. Pierre was born in the Bronx and continues to make NYC his home.

BARBARA HARMAN began her career as a college English professor, landing at Wellesley College in 1977, where she wrote three books and taught literature and writing for 25 years. She became Executive Director of the Harman Family Foundation in 2000 and founded the Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington in 2003. The Catalogue annually features the best community-based nonprofits in metropolitan Washington and has helped raise over $50 million to fuel their growth. She received the Mayor's Arts Award for Visionary Leadership in the Arts (with Jane Harman) and was named one of Washington's "most powerful women" by Washingtonian Magazine in 2013, 2015, and 2017 and a Washingtonian of the Year in 2016. Her most recent achievement is a 2+year "streak" learning Spanish (and a little French) on Duolingo. If you speak to her in Spanish, she will respond!

Barbara enjoys living half in a bucolic suburb west of Boston and half in the busy Penn Quarter/Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, DC. A graduate of Tufts University, she received her MA and Ph.D. degrees from Brandeis University.

KAREN ZACARÍAS is a Mexican playwright who was recently hailed by American Theater Magazine as one of the most produced playwrights in the US. Her plays include The Copper Children, Destiny of Desire, Native Gardens, The Book Club Play, Legacy of Light, Mariela in the Desert, The Sins of Sor Juana, and adaptations of Shane, Just Like Us, The Age of Innocence, Into the Beautiful North, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent, and a bilingual Romeo y Juliet. She is core founder of the Latinx Theatre Commons- a large national organization of artists seeking to update the American narrative with the stories of Latinx-, and the founder of the award-winning Young Playwrights' Theater. Karen was voted a 2019 Washingtonian of the Year; and was awarded the 2019 Sine Fellowship at the American University School of Public Policy, the 2019 Lee-Reynolds-Award for "social, cultural, or political change with theater," and the 2019 Medallion by the Children's Theater Foundation. She is a 2021 recipient of the United Artists Fellowship. Karen lives in Washington, DC; she is represented by the Gersh Agency and published by Concord Theatricals, Dramatic Publishing, and has a collection of plays with Oberon Books.

GALA Theatre established the Abel López Latinos in the Arts Leadership Award in response to the need to recognize unsung Latinx leaders and tell their stories. The purpose of the award is to encourage leadership in the arts as distinguished by those qualities exhibited by Abel López over his career and service to the arts. The award will be presented to a Latinx individual or organization that has made or is making a significant impact in the Latinx arts community, whether they are just beginning their career or are well established. Each awardee will receive an honorarium averaging $2,000.

HONORARY HOST COMMITTEE

Ambassador of Argentina to the U.S., His Excellency Jorge Arturo Argüello; Ambassador of Chile to the U.S., His Excellency Juan Gabriel Valdés; Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the U.S., Her Excellency Sonia Guzmán; Ambassador of El Salvador to the U.S., Her Excellency Milena Mayorga; Ambassador of Mexico to the U.S., His Excellency Esteban Moctezuma; Ambassador of Spain to the U.S., His Excellency Santiago Cabanas; Ambassador of Uruguay to the U.S., His Excellency Andrés Durán Hareau; Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, Executive Director, Carmen Feliciano; Mayor of the District of Columbia, Honorable Muriel E. Bowser; Chair, City Council of the District of Columbia, Honorable Phil Mendelson; Ward One Councilmember, City Council of the District of Columbia, Honorable Brianne Nadeau; Amy Austin, Theatre Washington, Janet Farrell, M&T Bank, retired; Dorothy and Bill McSweeny, Arts Patrons

Sponsors (to date) include Star Level: Verizon; Gold Level: Goya; Silver Level: M&T Bank; Bronze Level: Janet Farrell and Joe Drach In-Kind: To Your Taste Catering, Prestige Ledroit, Ariel Gómez Projects, The Ven Embassy Row.

Tickets for the Noche de Estrellas are $250 per person and $450 per couple. For more information about the event or sponsorship opportunities, please call (202) 234-7174, e-mail info@galatheatre.org, or visit www.galatheatre.org.

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