Cover Design and Illustration by Milton Glaser, Inc.
J U N E 7 TH 2 0 2 1
SPRING GALA
CELEBRATING SHAKESPEARE’S 457TH BIRTHDAY
M O N D A Y , J U N E 7 TH 2 0 2 1 6:30 PM Pre-Program Virtual Reception | 7:30 PM Gala Streaming Program THE PROGRAM Welcome Emcee HARRY LENNIX Speakers KATHLEEN WALSH and AUDREY HEFFERNAN MEYER Gala Co-Chairs JEFFREY HOROWITZ Founding Artistic Director DOROTHY RYAN Managing Director ROBERT E. BUCKHOLZ Board Chair
Presentation of the Samuel H. Scripps Award for Extraordinary Artistic Achievement Honoree MARIE MAIGNAN, Educator and Artist Janice Marie Knight School, East Flatbush, Brooklyn Presented by the Honorable JAHANA HAYES, Fifth Congressional District of Connecticut
Presentation of the Life in Art Award Honoree AMANDA RIEGEL and THE THOMPSON FAMILY FOUNDATION Presented by KATHRYN HUNTER
Producing On Line During the Pandemic and Planning for Return to Live Theatre With the participation of friends of TFANA including: F. Murray Abraham, Arin Arbus, Bianca Vivion Brooks, Christian Camargo, Bill Camp, Will Eno, Simon Godwin, Taibi Magar, Michael Rogers, John Douglas Thompson, Ashley Tata, Awoye Timpo, and more
LEAD SPONSOR
PREMIUM SPONSOR
PARTNER SPONSORS
TFANA acknowledges the Indigenous communities who tended to this land long before it was named Brooklyn. We stand by their descendants who endure repeated, often violent, efforts to remove Tribal Nations from their homes and suppress their languages and culture. Specifically, we would like to honor the Lenape and Carnarsie People, on whose ancestral homeland Polonsky Shakespeare Center is built. We make a commitment to rethink the stories we tell about our history and our sacred connection to each other.
HONOREES SAMUEL H. SCRIPPS AWARD
MARIE MAIGNAN Educator and Artist
Marie Maignan, Master of Science, Education, was born in America after her parents emigrated from Haiti in the 1970s. Since 2005, she has taught Social Studies, Math and Science, and English Language Arts to 4th and 5th grades at Janice Marie Knight School (P.S. 235), East Flatbush, Brooklyn. Shakespeare had been a part of the P.S. 235 5th grade curriculum championed by late Principal Janice Marie Knight. Though she had never taught Shakespeare, Maignan loved poetry, literature and worked in libraries as a teenager. In 2006, she began a partnership with Theatre for a New Audience and Ms. Erin McCready, teaching artist. Together, they led a process that respected students’ experience, knowledge, and imagination. The work flourished. Maignan and McCready have now explored fifteen different plays of Shakespeare from comedies about love to tragedies about race and the human heart to satires about money and greed. Interpreting Shakespeare with 11- and 12-year-olds, Marie Maignan synthesizes, inspires, and creates. Students now produce their own annual two-day Shakespeare Expo. After reading his Sonnet 29, Maya Angelou said she thought “Shakespeare must be a black girl.” Angelou wrote, “The poetry has been written for you, each of you – black, white, Hispanic, man, woman, gay, straight.” Marie Maignan’s art expresses this. She also serves on the Board of the Kyle Jean-Baptiste Foundation which supports arts and performance enrichment and learning opportunities to empower and engage youth, families, and community. LIFE IN ART AWARD
AMANDA RIEGEL and THE THOMPSON FAMILY FOUNDATION
Amanda Riegel is president of The Thompson Family Foundation, which funds historic preservation, arts and culture, medical research and community services in and around New York City. Founded by Wade Thompson in 1986, the Foundation has been instrumental in the revitalization of the Park Avenue Armory. In addition to major support for Theatre for a New Audience’s Capital Project for Polonsky Shakespeare Center, the Foundation has been a Principal Supporter of TFANA’s productions and programs since 2014. Other recent projects include the restoration of Belvedere Castle in Central Park, support of a collaborative cancer research project between Memorial Sloan Kettering, the Weizmann Institute in Tel Aviv and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, and support for neurological research at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University. The Foundation also provides support for local organizations meeting critical needs for New Yorkers and ongoing support for veterans. Amanda currently serves as co-chair of the Park Avenue Armory board and as a member of the Columbia Women’s Health Care Council.
2021 SPRING GALA CO-CHAIRS Kathleen C. Walsh* Audrey Heffernan Meyer* LEAD SPONSOR Deloitte LLP VICE CHAIRS Sally Brody* Robert E. Buckholz* and Lizanne Fontaine Ben E. Campbell* Constance Christensen* Sharon Dunn+ and Harvey Zirofsky Seymour H. Lesser* Larry M.* and Maria-Luisa Loeb Philip* and Janet Rotner Susan Stockel* Josh* and Jackie Weisberg PREMIUM Hearst The Thompson Family Foundation PARTNERS Constance Christensen* Agnes Gund Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP Latham & Watkins LLP PATRONS Alan L. Beller Robert E. Buckholz* and Lizanne Fontaine Audrey Heffernan Meyer* and Danny Meyer Kathleen C. Walsh* and Gene Bernstein GALA Anonymous (2) Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP Keith and Peggy Anderson Jay and Jill Bernstein Bloomberg Philanthropies Kathryn and Kenneth Chenault Debevoise & Plimpton LLP Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP Ingram Yuzek Gainen Carroll Bertolotti LLP McDermott Will & Emery/Tim Hoeffner Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP Abby Pogrebin and David Shapiro Anne Prost and Olivier Robert Sidley Austin LLP Jerry Speyer and Katherine Farley Susan Stockel* Anne and William Tatlock SUPPORTERS Anonymous (1) Michele and Martin Cohen Benjamin F. Crane Kirsten Feldman and Hugh Frater Steve Hindy and Ellen Foote King & Spalding Peter Klosowicz and Kerri Scharlin Seymour Lesser* Robert Menschel Philip* and Janet Rotner Jonathan and Elizabeth Tisch Josh* and Jackie Weisberg Joanne Witty and Eugene Keilin DONORS Anonymous (1) Dominique Bravo and Eric Sloan
Elaine and Norman Brodsky Sally Brody* Thomas Faust and Susan Schultz Monica Gerard-Sharp Debra Goldsmith Robb and Felix Andrew Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP Alan Jones and Ashley Garrett James and Heather Higgins Tom Healy and Fred P. Hochberg Nora and John Kerr Kirkland & Ellis LLP Mark and Taryn Leavitt Larry M.* and Maria-Luisa Loeb Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP Margaret Nuzum Janet Olshansky Susan and Peter Restler Robert and Cynthia Schaffner Jay and Gayle Waxenberg Lisa C. Wood/Foley Hoag LLP FRIENDS Anonymous (8) Elizabeth Abbott F. Murray Abraham+ John B. Adams Kay Allaire Arin Arbus+ Marcia and Douglas Bateson John Berendt+ John and Christina Bransfield Bianca Vivion Brooks+ Robert Caro+ Robert and Joan Catell David Cohen Dr. Joel Conarroe Dennis Corrado/The Breukelein Institute Sharon Dunn+ and Harvey Zirofsky Frederick Eberstadt Mary Edlow Gail Erickson and Christa Rice The Ettinger Foundation Pamela Fiori Givner Sheryl and Jeffrey Flug Molly Friedrich Albert Garner and Annie Paulsen Virginia P. Gliedman Joe Godfrey James Guedry Harvey and Kathleen Guion Annette and Bill Hebel Don and Adee Hendler Riccardo Hernandez+ Bob and Laura Hoguet Stuart Holzer Steven Horowitz and Debra Kaye Kathryn Hunter+ Maxine Isaacs Dana Ivey+ Penny Brandt Jackson and Thomas Campbell Jackson Kate Karet and Jeffrey Levick Adelaide Kent Andrea Knutson Eric and Sandra Krasnoff Susan Kurz Snyder Helena Lee and Richard Klapper Deborah and Jon LaBerge Cathleen and Sanford Leff Harry J. Lennix+ Phyllis Lee Levin Nancy Locker Steve and Dedee Lovell Terry and Tina Lundgren Margaret Lundin
Catherine Maciariello+ Jun Makihara and Mimi Oka Charles and Georgette Mallory Wendy and Jeff Maurer Peter D. McCann and Deborah Berke Joseph and Pamela Maffei McCarthy Bill Mentlik and Susan Pondfield Nancy Meyer and Marc Weiss Richard and Barbara Moore Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Olmsted Edward and Barbara Oppedisano Sarah Paley and Joseph Kerrey Doris and Martin Payson Ellen Petrino Leslie and David Puth William and Susan Rifkin Nancy Rosenberg and David Steinlieb Joseph Samulski+ Stacy Schiff and Marc de la Bruyere Sandra K. Schoenbart Patricia Schoenfeld Chuck Smith Susan and Ted Tashlik John Douglas Thompson+ John Turturro+ Marc and Giulia Weisman Tappan Wilder Frederick Wiseman+ Vicki and Andrew Wittenstein Peter and Kathryn Yatrakis * Denotes Member of Theatre for a New Audience’s Board of Directors + Denotes Member of Theatre for a New Audience’s Artistic Council List as of June 3, 2021
LEAD SPONSOR PREMIUM
PARTNER
GALA
SUPPORTER DONOR
HARRY LENNIX Emcee Harry Lennix is a distinguished film, television and stage actor who currently stars as Harold Cooper, Asst. Dir of Counter-terrorism for the FBI on NBC’s The Blacklist. Lennix made his Broadway debut in Pulitzer Prize winning playwright August Wilson’s Tony nominated Radio Golf. In 1994 at Theatre for a New Audience, he played Aaron in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus directed by Julie Taymor and he played Aaron again in the 1999 film Titus again directed by Julie Taymor with Jessica Lange and Anthony Hopkins; in 2001, he played Iachimo in TFANA’s Cymbeline directed by Bartlett Sher which premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Company. He is also on the staff of the Goodman Theater Co. (Chicago) and is an internationally recognized Shakespeare practitioner, writing for various theatrical and literary journals dedicated to the Bard. Film roles include The Martian Manhunter in Zack Synder’s Justice League, Dresser in The Five Heartbeats, General Swanwick in Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, Commander Lock in The Matrix and The Matrix: Reloaded and the Oscar® winning Ray. He is regularly seen on Showtime’s Billions.
KATHLEEN C. WALSH Gala Co-Chair, Board Vice Chair, Capital Campaign Vice Chair Kathleen Walsh became Vice Chair of Theatre for a New Audience’s Board in 2019. Through her leadership as Gala Co-Chair for her more than six years on the Board she has transformed the annual event into a major source of revenue for the Theatre. She spent 34 years in the institutional investment business, working primarily with endowments and foundations, at firms such as U.S. Trust Company and Commonfund. In addition to TFANA, she serves on the New York regional advisory board of The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. She previously served on the board of Childbirth Connection and the Finance Committee of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement at Graymoor.
AUDREY HEFFERNAN MEYER Gala Co-Chair, Board Executive Committee, Capital Campaign Chair, Prof. Actor Audrey Meyer has been a beloved board member of Theatre for a New Audience for more than 25 years, and was a key fundraiser in the building of Polonsky Shakespeare Center. She is a professional actor and singer with numerous stage and television credits, including The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Billions. Audrey resides in NYC with husband Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, and their four children.
The Honorable JAHANA HAYES U.S. Representative, presenter Jahana Hayes is the U.S. Representative for the Fifth Congressional District of Connecticut, the first African-American woman and the first African-American Democrat to represent the state in Congress. Prior to her election in 2018 she was honored as 2016 National Teacher of the Year. She is a fierce advocate for equitable access to educational opportunities for all students and sits on the full House committees of Education and Labor, and Agriculture. She is the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight and Department Operations. She is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Pro-Choice Caucus, Coalition for Autism Research and Education Caucus and Co-chair of the College Affordability Caucus, and serves on the Emergency Task Force on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health, Education and Labor Task Force, Freshman Working Group on Addiction, Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and is a Deputy Whip.
KATHRYN HUNTER presenter Internationally renowned award-winning actress and director Kathryn Hunter was born in New York, grew up in England, and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Winner of the Olivier Award for her performance in Dürrenmatt's The Visit, Ms. Hunter’s tour de force performances in Why?, The Valley of Astonishment, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Kafka’s Monkey, and Fragments have made her a Theatre for a New Audience favorite. Other leading and award-winning appearances include title roles in Richard III, King Lear, Antony & Cleopatra, Spoonface Steinberg, and The
Skriker. She is also an associate member of the internationally acclaimed Theatre de Complicité Company. Her many film and television credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Harry Potter and the Order the Phoenix, All or Nothing, Orlando, and The Tale of Tales. Kathryn’s directing credits include standout productions with leading companies including Royal National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Young Vic, Royal Court, and Shakespeare’s Globe.
ROBERT E. BUCKHOLZ Board Chair Bob Buckholz has been a member of Theatre for a New Audience’s Board of Directors since 2014, and Board Chair since September 2018. A longtime resident of Brooklyn Heights, he is also on the Board of the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society, and served for more than 20 years on the Board of the Brooklyn Historical Society. Bob is a member of the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, where he has practiced securities law since 1980, and is active in bar association activities, currently serving as Chair of the Federal Regulation of Securities Committee of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association, and previously chairing that Committee’s Securities Law Opinions Subcommittee and the New York City Bar Association’s Securities Regulation Committee. Bob is also a co-author of Public Company Deskbook, published by the Practicing Law Institute.
JEFFREY HOROWITZ Founding Artistic Director Jeffrey Horowitz (Founding Artistic Director) began his career in theatre as an actor and appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway and in regional theatre. In 1979, he founded Theatre for a New Audience. Horowitz has served on the Panel of the New York State Council on the Arts, on the Board of Directors of Theatre Communications Group, the Advisory Board of the Shakespeare Society and Artistic Directorate of London’s Globe Theatre. Awards: 2003 John Houseman Award - The Acting Company; 2004 Gaudium Award - Breukelein Institute; 2014 Alfred Drake Award - Brooklyn College; 2019 Obie Lifetime Achievement Award.
DOROTHY RYAN Managing Director Dorothy Ryan joined Theatre for a New Audience in 2003, following fundraising roles with the 92nd Street Y and the Brooklyn Museum. After graduating from Brown University, Ryan began her career in classical music artist management, and has also served as Company Manager for Chautauqua Opera, Managing Director for the Opera Ensemble of New York, and General Manager of Eugene Opera. She serves on the Executive Committee and as Treasurer of the Downtown Brooklyn Arts Alliance. EVENT TEAM
Director – Peter Cook Script – Peter Cook and Jeffrey Horowitz Field Producer – Judy Lieff Director of Photography – Bill Tunnicliffe Editors – Judy Lieff, Elena Toccafondi, Bill Tunnicliffe Camera Operators – Gail Bennett, Lachie Hinton, Chithra Jeyaram, Judy Lieff, Bill Tunnicliffe, Alex Zimmer Production Crew – Ellen Maynard, Peter Richards, Kjerstin Rossi Hair & Makeup – Tyler Fields Teleprompter Operator – Destin Hernandez Light Board Operator – Paul Kennedy COVID Compliance Officer – Allison Byrum Assistant Editor – Dylin Taylor Post-Production Color & Sound – Alain Furcajg Location Managers (Polonsky Shakespeare Center) – Jordan Asinofsky and Rashawn Caldwell
Gala Associates – Tatianna Casas Quiñonez, Emma Rosa Went Press Representative – Blake Zidell & Associates Scripps Award & Life in Art Award Designs – Milton Glaser, Inc. Scripps Award fabricated by Nicholas Fasciano Design, Inc. Invitation and Program Cover Illustration – Ignacio Serrano/Milton Glaser, Inc. Program Design – Luis Gutierrez Online Gala platform provider:VES Gala Fundraising – James Lynes, Barbara Toy, Sara Billeaux, Taylor Ross Gala Marketing – Jennifer Lam, Torrence Browne Gala Audience Services – Steven Gaultney, Sara Billeaux, Tatianna Casas Quiñonez, Nidia Medina, Taylor Ross Catering – Thomas Preti Events to Savor Mobile Bidding Services – ClickBid
THEATRE FOR A NEW AUDIENCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
STAFF
Robert E. Buckholz, Board Chair Kathleen C. Walsh, Board Vice Chair Jeffrey Horowitz, President Dorothy Ryan,Vice President and Secretary F. Murray Abraham* Arin Arbus* John Berendt* Sally Brody Bianca Vivion Brooks* Ben E. Campbell Robert Caro* Constance Christensen Dr. Sharon Dunn* Riccardo Hernandez* Kathryn Hunter* Dana Ivey* Harry J. Lennix* Seymour H. Lesser Larry M. Loeb Catherine Maciariello* Audrey Heffernan Meyer Marc Polonsky Philip R. Rotner Joseph Samulski* Daryl D. Smith Susan Stockel Michael Stranahan John Douglas Thompson* John Turturro* Josh Weisberg Frederick Wiseman*
Jeffrey Horowitz Founding Artistic Director Dorothy Ryan Managing Director Jennifer Lam Director of Marketing & Communications James Lynes Director of Institutional Advancement Michael Page Interim General Manager Nidia Medina Associate Producer/Director of the Studio Mary Sormeley Finance Director Jordan Asinofsky Facilities Director Kathleen Dorman Interim Education Director Barbara Toy Associate Director of Development Sara Billeaux Institutional Support Manager Torrence Browne Marketing Manager Steven Gaultney Theatre Manager Zachary Longstreet Production Manager Tatianna Casas Quiñonez Executive Assistant to the Artistic &
EMERITUS
Managing Directors/Manager of Humanities & Studio Programs
Allison Byrum Box Office Manager Peter Cook Artistic Associate Rashawn Caldwell Associate Facilities Manager Philip Calabro Education Associate Arin Arbus Resident Director Jonathan Kalb Resident Dramaturg & Literary Manager Blake Zidell & Associates Press Representative Michael Kaiser Strategic Planning Consultant COUNCIL OF SCHOLARS Ayanna Thompson, Chair Jonathan Kalb Richard McCoy Tanya Pollard Alisa Solomon
Francine Ballan Dr. Charlotte K. Frank Theodore C. Rogers Jane Wells
Theatre for a New Audience gratefully acknowledges the support of the following individuals, organizations, and companies for their generous donations towards our Silent Auction
IN MEMORIAM
Neil Allen Gene Bernstein Sally Brody Andy Burgess, courtesy of Cynthia Corbett Gallery Liz Christensen Milton Glaser, Inc. Michele and Kevin Harrington Lafayette 148, Manhasset Ann McDonald Audrey and Danny Meyer Playwrights Horizons Geoff Stein, courtesy of Cynthia Corbett Gallery Xtra Love Trips provided by our nonprofit partner, AmFund
Robert Arnow Dr. Robert Ascheim Cicely Berry, CBE, Honorary Doctorate of Literature Zoe Ada Caldwell, OBE Henry Christensen III Merle Debuskey Sir Peter Hall, CBE John Heilpern John Krajci Gloria Messenger Marcia T. Thompson *Artistic Council
ABOUT THEATRE FOR A NEW AUDIENCE Founded 1979 by Jeffrey Horowitz, Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) is home for Shakespeare and other contemporary playwrights. It nurtures artists, culture and community. As each audience is new and different from the last one, TFANA is dedicated to forging an exchange between artist and playgoer that is immediate and direct, and to the ongoing search for a living, human theatre. With Shakespeare as its supreme guide, TFANA explores the ever-changing forms of world theatre and builds a dialogue spanning centuries between the language and ideas of Shakespeare and diverse authors, past and present. TFANA promotes development and experimentation through its Merle Debuskey Studio Program. Arin Arbus, Mark Rylance, Bartlett Sher, Julie Taymor, Darko Tresnjak and John Douglas Thompson are some of today’s most respected artists to whom TFANA provided essential support early in their careers.
Photo Credit: © David Sundberg/Esto
TFANA plays for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. The company is devoted to economic access; and promotes a vibrant exchange of ideas through its humanities and education initiatives. TFANA created and runs the largest program to introduce Shakespeare and classic drama in New York City’s Public Schools. Since1984, it has served more than 140,000 students. TFANA’s award-winning productions have played nationally, internationally, and on Broadway. In 2001, it became the first American theatre company invited to bring a production of Shakespeare to the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 2013, TFANA opened its first permanent home, Polonsky Shakespeare Center, in the Brooklyn Cultural District. The flexible, 299-seat Samuel H. Scripps Mainstage is wonderful for Shakespeare and contemporary playwrights and the 50-seat Theodore C. Rogers Studio is an adaptable rehearsal and performance space. During Covid, TFANA engaged artists and audiences with distinctive programming. Its work in the Public Schools continues with online instruction, serving 2,300 students citywide. And, with a special gift, Julie Taymor’s film, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is being streamed at no charge to participating students and educators. SPECIAL THANKS
Ygenson, Addison, and Edwin Maignan Erin McCready The students (past and present), families, teachers, and staff of P.S. 235 World Theatre Project F. Murray Abraham
Arin Arbus Anne Bogart Bianca Vivion Brooks Christian Camargo Bill Camp Will Eno Simon Godwin Kathryn Hunter
Kyle Larkin Harry J. Lennix Larry Lord Taibi Magar Marcello Magni Zhe Pan Milan Pryce Sacha Purcell
Tristan Regist Michael Rogers Ashley Tata Arminda Thomas John Douglas Thompson Awoye Timpo Kathlyn Wilson