Golden Gammage Gala
TOM TRUMBLE
ASU Gammage celebrates its 50th anniversary with a
sure-to-be-smashing party at the Arizona Biltmore.
The gala, which has sold out the past two years,
is the final of three. This is your last chance.
The three years of ASU Gammage galas will culminate March 7, 2015, with the grandest party of all to celebrate the iconic Valley treasure. The Go GaGa galas debuted in 2012 as a way to raise awareness and funds for the 50th anniversary of the Frank-Lloyd Wright-designed performance venue on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe.
(left) Dr. Chuck and Laurie Goldstein have sponsored all three galas
(right) Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, ASU Gammage executive director; Jeffrey and Leslie Rich, and Mary Way
In 2012 and 2013, the galas were held at Gammage, with dinner being served on the stage. Unfortunately, the stage can accommodate only 320 guests. The March 7 celebration will be held at the Arizona Biltmore to reach a much larger audience. Dr. Chuck Goldstein and his wife, Laurie, have been the sponsors for the three galas.
“This is your last opportunity to attend because this is the last gala,” says Leslie Rich, who is co-chairing the occasion with her husband, Jeffrey, and Mary Way. To mark the 50th anniversary, Rich says, “Our intention was always to have just three galas.”
THE ENTERTAINMENT
As in the past two years, the 2015 party will have a performance component. The theme, says Rich, is all about stars, golden stars. The first are the myriads of Broadway and performing stars who have appeared on the Gammage stage. Second are the stars who have gotten their start at Gammage. These include composer and performer Daniel Roumain and and dancer, choreographer, artistic director and writer Bill T. Jones. The third stars are the patrons. “Without the 500,000 people who come to Gammage every year – the rousing crowds of people who appreciate theater and live entertainment–Gammage would not be the success it is.”
Actor, writer and funny man Mo Rocca (left), known for Food(ography), My Grandmother’s Ravioli and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, will serve as the evening’s emcee. Rocca will be on stage throughout the evening, and Roumain and Bill T. Jones will perform during the dinner hour.
The headliner is two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster (right), known for her performances in Anything Goes and Thoroughly Modern Millie. She is also a frequent guest on popular television shows such as Law and Order and Royal Pains. She currently stars in Broadway’s Violet.
In addition, the evening will include the first annual Gammy Award, which will be presented to Broadway producer David Stone, who produced, among others, Wicked, The Vagina Monologues, The Diary of Anne Frank and Next to Normal, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 2010.
THE PURPOSE
“The nice part,” says Rich, “is we are doing this to help fund much-needed improvements to Gammage.”
Among the improvements will be the addition of more women’s bathrooms, more handicap facilities and a new digital sound system that works with modern theater performances. Fifty years ago when Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra performed on opening night of the facility, he declared it the best venue he had performed in. “But,” Rich points out, “that was before the age of digital music.”
NEW THIS YEAR
For the first time, the gala will include a live auction. Celebrity auctioneer Yves Rojas – she competed on Survivor: Nicaragua – from Kansas City will do her best to get top bidding on six major items.
Also available this year is ASU Gammage: 50 Years of Connecting Communities, a coffee table book. The book is available online HERE.
GOLDEN GAMMAGE GALA
March 7, 2015
The Arizona Biltmore
Register HERE.
