Shakespeare Theatre GALA
One of the highlights of the Washington theater season is the annual Shakespeare Theatre GALA which takes place every October. It is the big fundraiser for the Shakespeare Theatre Company but more than that it is always a fabulous night of entertainment and this past Monday evening’s GALA and the presentation of the WILL award to F. Murray Abraham was no exception.
The GALA actually began on Sunday evening with a reception at the French Ambassador’s home and Francois Delattre and his wife were perfect hosts. Attending were some of the biggest donors to the theatre and of course the incredibly dedicated, hardworking and beautiful Gala Chair Georgetown’s own Melissa Moss.
Monday evening began with cocktails in the Harman Theater lobby and then everyone was treated to a really great show directed by Alan Paul. Three of the highlights of the evening for me, and there were many, were the presentation of the WILL award and then as his acceptance speech Abraham performed a soliloquy from his award winning role as Shylock in the Merchant of Venice. Then there were the Q Brothers, GQ and JQ who created and starred in Othello: the Remix, a rap presentation which was first commissioned for and presented at the Globe Theatre in London. These brothers are brilliant. They hail from Chicago and I think that Michelle Obama should invite them to perform at the White House. She and the President and their daughters would equally enjoy these guys. A surprise guest to close the show was Christine Ebersole, who is as beautiful as ever with a wondrous voice. She came to honor F. Murray and we were reminded that she appeared with him in the film Amadeus for which he won his Academy Award.
Also on the program were a slew of talented artists including the brilliant Bill Irwin who some may remember was the first performing arts artist to receive a MacArthur Genius Grant. Then there was the ever funny Jerry Stiller who most will remember from his role as Frank Costanza on Seinfeld. He and his wife Ann were the “Stiller and Meara” comedy team and those of a certain age will remember them well and even laugh at the thought of their unique comedy. They actually appeared on the Ed Sullivan show 36 times. There was a performance by the great Paul Taylor Dance Company; Howard McGillin (he of numerous Tony nominations and other awards) and glorious Soprano Lauren Flanigan.
After the show everyone walked or rode over to the beautiful Building Museum for dinner and dancing. It was an evening to remember and I would suggest to all who can afford to make a contribution to support great programming like the Shakespeare Company represents that you consider coming to next year’s GALA. Not only will you feel good about helping the ARTS but funds also go to their youth education programs. And not least of all you will be a part of one of the year’s most fun evenings at the theater.