To the Editor,
On behalf of McCarter Theatre Center, I want to thank all who helped to make our annual Gala on Saturday, April 28, such a tremendous success! This year, longtime friend of McCarter, Audra McDonald performed for a packed-to-the-rafters theater as the centerpiece of the evening. Our guests were treated to an extraordinary 90-minute performance of beautiful songs and personal stories and anecdotes by Ms. McDonald, the remarkable Tony Award-winning star of Broadway.
Thank you to our lead sponsor, BNY Mellon Wealth Management, as well as our major sponsors: Bloomberg Philanthropies, CURE Auto Insurance, Drinker Biddle, Maiden Re, Mathematica Policy Research, and Merrill Lynch.
We also wish to thank Bryn Mawr Trust; Joshua Zinder Architecture and Design; and longtime supporter Saul Ewing, Arnstein, and Lehr, LLP for their early support which helped us reach our fundraising goal. McCarter is deeply grateful for their support and for that of many other corporate and individual sponsors and advertisers who helped to make this event such a wonderful success.
We want to extend a special thanks to our Gala Committee and to Gala Committee Co-Chairpersons: Liza and Sky Morehouse, Sonya and Bill Sappington, and Courtney Lederer and Mark Thierfelder who orchestrated a glittering evening for our guests. Thank you also to Sebastian Clarke of Rago Arts and Auction Center for conducting our live auction, and to Starr Catering and Viburnum Designs of Princeton for all their help with the event.
During the course of the evening, it was my great pleasure to introduce McCarter’s new Managing Director, Michael S. Rosenberg, to our guests. Mike comes to us from the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego and has assumed his new role as of Monday, April 30. He joins Emily Mann and Bill Lockwood in leading McCarter toward even greater artistic heights in the years ahead.
The proceeds from this special annual event support McCarter’s artistic, education, and engagement programming throughout our region. McCarter partners with several local school districts to provide curriculum design assistance. In schools from Trenton to New Brunswick, McCarter helps train and support teachers, send our teaching artists into local classrooms, and create opportunities for all to participate in our classes and camps and so much more. The Gala is the largest fundraiser of the year for McCarter and is critical for the success and breadth of these programs.
Again, my heartfelt thanks to all involved for their support of this great institution. We are so deeply grateful!
Leslie Kuenne
President, Board of Trustees
McCarter Theatre Center
