They celebrated the Kravis Center’s 15th Anniversary Celebration Gala Benefit last month in Palm Beach and there was the magic of Broadway in the air.
This year’s Gala performance, Back to Back to Broadway, created especially for the Kravis Center’s anniversary celebration, starred Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey, Academy Award winners for the 1972 film Cabaret, along with Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell (Ragtime, Kiss Me, Kate) and Metropolitan Opera soprano Harolyn Blackwell (West Side Story, Candide). The performance also featured choreography by Baayork Lee, one of the original cast members of Broadway’s A Chorus Line who is responsible for restaging Michael Bennett’s choreography for the current smash New York revival of that show.
The evening began with a cocktail reception in the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Founders’ Room and ended with a black-tie dinner dance in the Cohen Pavilion’s Weiner Banquet Center, which was designed by Rafanelli Events to reflect the evening’s Broadway theme.
The celebration was dedicated in loving memory of Julian Cohen, a longtime member of the Kravis Center’s Board of Directors and one of the Center’s most generous supporters, who passed away two days before the event. |
During the Gala, the Kravis Center recognized its “leading ladies” for their efforts and dedicated service over the past 15 years and for their continued support of the mission of the Kravis Center. The members of the Honorary Gala Committee were: Carol Cohen, Patricia Cook, Lore Dodge, Renate Dreyfoos, Elaine Gimelstob, Nicki Harris, Elaine Langone, Hillie Mahoney, Chris Marden, Helen Persson, Janna Rumbough, Mary Schott, and Kathryn Vecellio.
Kravis Center Chairman Alexander W. Dreyfoos gave special recognition to Julie Khoury who made a $1 million gift to the Kravis Center’s Encore Capital Campaign, the fund-raising effort to pay for the Cohen Pavilion expansion project.
Mr. Dreyfoos thanked the couple on behalf of fellow board members and presented the Khourys with a Tiffany & Co. tray as a memento that has traditionally been given to generous donors who contribute $1 million or more to the Encore Campaign.
Proceeds from the Kravis Center’s annual Gala Benefit make it possible for the Center to continue with programs that have introduced school children from five surrounding counties to the wonder of the performing arts. The funds are also used to present innovative programs such as master classes, lectures and performance opportunities for both children and adults. Ticket sales and rental revenue alone do not cover the cost of operating a not-for-profit facility like the Kravis Center. It is only through generous contributions and benefits like the Gala that the Kravis Center continues to succeed in making the best of the performing arts available to the entire community.
Herbert and Elaine Gimelstob generously sponsored the public performance, Back to Back to Broadway. Grand Sponsors Lewis and Mary Schott and Carl and Ruth Shapiro sponsored the gala décor and dinner, respectively.
Other sponsors of the evening included Julian and Carol Cohen (dinner entertainment), Alexander and Renate Dreyfoos (dinner-dance orchestra), Kenneth and Elaine Langone (cocktail reception), Jane Mitchell (invitations and programs – design and printing), Paul and Marilyn Mulach (photography), Helen K. Persson (table centerpieces), Van Cleef & Arpels (dessert extravaganza) and The Breakers (bar and wine service). |
