On Tuesday, May 7, Tony Award-winner Bartlett Sher directed a staged reading of Christopher Durang’s Tony Award-winning play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike starring original cast members Sigourney Weaver, David Hyde Pierce, and Kristine Nielsen, as well as David Hull, Linda Lavin, and Liesel Allen Yeager. The reading took place on the set of LCT’s current production of Uncle Vanya at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. The Gala evening will support Lincoln Center Theater’s productions and education programs.
Following the sold-out performance, attendees headed over to David Geffen Hall for an elegant sit-down dinner featuring a menu curated by Chef Kwame Onwuachi of Tatiana. In addition to the dinner, MARIA TASH hosted an exclusive cocktail party, Spike’s Lounge. The lobby of David Geffen Hall was transformed, for one night only, into a chic party space, featuring music by DJ Jenny Albright. and specialty cocktails by Bacardi, USA, Inc. and Patrón Tequila.
Notable guests included the full cast of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Steve Carell and 2024 Tony Award-nominee William Jackson Harper (currently starring in LCT’s Uncle Vanya); Candice Bergen, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar, supermodel Karolina Kurkova, Molly Jong-Fast, Bartlett Sher, Kamilah Forbes, Michael R. Jackson, Tony Award-winning playwright J.T. Rogers, Brooke Garber Neidich, Kewsong Lee, Maria Tash, Electra Toub, Sandy Hoffen, Linda LeRoy Janklow, David Solomon, Stellene Volandes, Elyse Newhouse, Scott Mills, Tristen Snell and Katherine Farley and Jerry I. Speyer.
LCT’s 2024 Gala Co-Chairs were Brooke Garber Neidich and Daniel Neidich and Sarah Long and David Solomon. Vice-Chairs include Katherine Farley and Jerry I. Speyer, Marlene Hess and James D. Zirin, Judy and Will Hiltz, Sandra and Howard I. Hoffen, Kewsong Lee and Zita J. Ezpeleta, and Elyse and Michael Newhouse. The Spike’s Lounge Chair was Eric Kuhn.
On Tuesday, May 7, 2024, the Lower Eastside Girls Club (LESGC) celebrated its Spring Fling Annual Gala at Pier 17’s Pearl Alley. The festive “Secret Garden” themed event, raised over $500,000 for the organization’s mission of amplifying the inner power of gender-expansive youth and community-centered development in New York City.
Guests sipped on signature cocktails, indulged in hors d’oeuvres by Michelin Star Chef James Kent, and danced under the stars to a set by Grammy-Award-winning DJ and Producer, Mark Ronson. The sold-out event was attended by a cross-section of New York City’s fashion, art, film, business, and philanthropy worlds.
Lower Eastside Girls Club’s new CEO Lanthy Truong, Executive Director Jenny Dembrow, and the LESGC Board of Directors Anil Dash, Carmen Rita Wong, Cleo Wade, David Wilson, De’Ara Balenger, Gael Towey, Jen Gatien, Keisha Golding, Kimberly Aguilera, Woozae Kim, and Xochitl Gonzalez were joined by special guests including Andrew Wyatt, Áwet Woldegebriel, Dapper Dan, Jen Rubio, Kelsie Hayes, Lauren Chan, Louise Melling, Meredith Melling, Molly Howard, and more.
During the DJ set, guests were treated to a special performance from the dancers of House of Yes. The evening was generously supported by the Presenting Sponsor, H&M, along with Gap, Maybelline, Two Trees, Carmen Rita Wong, La Ligne, Amazon, Spectrum, and Glitch. The event also included generous in-kind donations from Pop Up Florist, Saga / Crown Shy, Magnolia Bakery, Sanzo, and Moet Hennessy.
