‘Dreamgirls’ takes center stage for TUTS’ gala
Would it be too easy to label Theatre Under the Stars’ “Dreamgirls”-inspired gala as dreamy? Regardless, the descriptor fits the bill.
The watercolor sunset painted an ideal backdrop for TUTS’ “One Night Only” soiree at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Light poured in through the Grand Lobby’s floor-to-ceiling windows as bulbs flashed indoors, too. Dueling photo booths plus an 8-foot graffiti-wall ode to “In the Heights” equals Instagram story gold, after all.
And then there were the outfits. While dozens of guests dressed in shimmering gowns and 1970s frocks, as the Motowntheme would suggest, a handful of attendees aimed for the stars.
Jerry Ann Costa dazzled in Gucci sequins, local designer
Andrew Drayton escorted model Han Jiang around the cocktail reception, and event cochair Paul-David Van Atta was impossible to miss in his brocade suit jacket. Richard Brown wowed in an electric blue tuxedo and paisley dress shirt that hinted at the lively program to come; his eponymous orchestra would later rock the fete’s after party. And honoree Margaret Alkek
Williams wore an ensemble that was earlobe-to-toe purple (her favorite hue).
Lilac, lavender and violet blanketed the stage set for dinner under the Joe and Lee Jamail Celestial Dome Ceiling. There, some 400 patrons were seated at tables marked by periwinkle hydrangea and edible chocolate compact discs.
“The thing you should know about Paul-David is that sometimes at the end of a meeting, a bottle of Scotch appears,” Bart
McAndrews, a fellow co-chair along with his wife, Becky
McAndrews, said of Van Atta’s planning tactics. “Working with TUTS, if you have an idea, it gets done — unless, you have an idea and they say, ‘We already did that two days ago.’ ”
Indeed, the gala was an explosion of activity from start to finish. Board chairwoman
Amy Pierce surprised Williams with prerecorded well-wishes from Sheryl Lee Ralph, the Tony Award-winning actress known for her role in the original “Dreamgirls” on Broadway.
Later, after Culinaire’s filet mignon “Diane,” the cast from
Sheldon Epps’ upcoming rendition of the musical dazzled with a teaser performance.
Bidding wars erupted over an “In the Heights” New York City trip — which includes a meet-and-greet with “Hamilton” actor Anthony Lee Medina — and “An American in Paris” jaunt presented by Van Cleef & Arpels. Those hot ticket items contributed to the nearly $700,000 raised for TUTS’ educational programs: Humphreys School of Musical Theatre, the River Performing and Visual Arts Center and musicals for young audiences and community engagement.
Afterward, Grand Finale After-Party co-chairs David
Peck and Hector Villarreal directed guests back to the grand lobby for dessert and dancing. A fresh batch of supporters including Laura Max and Ben Rose, Liz and Stephen Jones, Tammy Greene Dowe and Anika Jackson joined the latenight festivities.
If the word of the evening was “dreamy,” then #dontwakemeup proved the only suitable hashtag.