BAM 2005 Spring Season Gala Celebrates Matthew Bourne’s Play Without Words on Tuesday, March 15
Cocktails in BAM Harvey Theater’s Campbell Lobby to be followed by the U.S. premiere of the Olivier Award-winning show; dinner with artists and special guests including Harvey Keitel, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Isaac Mizrahi, and Estelle Parsons follows immediately at 330 Jay Street
John Lipsky and Zsuzsanna Karasz to serve as Gala Chairs; Rita Hillman, Peter Finn, Diane and Adam E. Max, Bruce C. Ratner, Michael Schubert, Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg are Vice Chairs
Brooklyn, February 18, 2005—BAM announces its 2005 Spring Season Gala, in celebration of the anticipated U.S. premiere of Matthew Bourne’s critically-acclaimed and Olivier Award- winning Play Without Words. The Gala evening on Tuesday, March 15 begins with a cocktail reception at 6pm in BAM Harvey Theater’s Campbell Lobby followed by a 7pm performance of Play Without Words in the BAM Harvey Theater. The Gala evening concludes with a post- performance dinner party with the artists at 8:45pm on the 28th floor of 330 Jay Street in Brooklyn, a few blocks away from the Brooklyn Bridge. Gala tickets can be purchased through BAM Patron Services at 718.636.4182.
The evening will be catered by Great Performances, which provides eclectic food and beverages at BAMcafé, as well as catering services for many of New York’s leading arts organizations. Pine Ridge Winery will provide gala wine. 330 Jay Street, with magnificent views of the city, will be transformed by gR Associates to reflect the Swinging Sixties, ultra-mod style of the show. Support for the Spring Gala has been provided by: Forest City Ratner Companies, Alex Hillman Family Foundation, Diane and Adam E. Max, Ruder Finn, Inc., and Pine Ridge Winery. Proceeds from this event will benefit BAM. Each Gala contributor or guest has the chance to win one of five pairs of round-trip domestic flights, courtesy of JetBlue Airways (some restrictions apply).
John Lipsky, Chief Economist for JPMorgan Chase and his wife, Zsuzsanna Karasz, serve as the Gala Chairs. Peter Finn, Ruder Finn, Inc.; Rita Hillman, Alex Hillman Family Foundation; Diane and Adam E. Max; Bruce C. Ratner, Forest City Ratner Companies; Michael Schubert, Ruder Finn, Inc.; Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg are the Gala Vice Chairs. BAM President Karen Brooks Hopkins and Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo will co-host the Gala with Alan H. Fishman, President and CEO of Independence Community Bank Corp. and Chair of BAM’s Board of Trustees. Special guests include Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, designer Isaac Mizrahi, and actors Harvey Keitel, Estelle Parsons, and Lois Smith.
more… 2005 Spring Season Gala 2
Event information
Tuesday, March 15, Brooklyn, NY; Festive attire
• 6pm Pre-performance cocktail reception, Campbell Lobby, BAM Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton St. • 7pm Play Without Words, BAM Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton St. • 8:45pm Post-show dinner with the artists, 330 Jay St., 28th floor (Brooklyn, NY 11201 – a few blocks away from the entrance of the Brooklyn Bridge)
Tickets start at $300 per couple for Gala cocktail reception and performance only; a pair of tickets for the entire evening plus an annual membership in the Producers Council is available for $1,500. Please call BAM Patron Services at 718.636.4182 for more information or to order tickets.
The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is recognized internationally for innovative dance, music, theater, music-theater, and opera programming. In addition to presenting leading national and international artists, BAM identifies and supports the work of ground-breaking artists with its Next Wave Festival (founded in 1983), one of the world's most important festivals of contemporary performing arts. BAM also serves New York City's diverse population through a wide variety of educational programs, and has expanded its role in the community with the creation of the BAMcafé and the BAM Rose Cinemas. America's oldest performing arts center in continuous operation, BAM has been a part of New York's cultural community since 1861.
About Play Without Words
Matthew Bourne makes his BAM debut with the celebrated U.K. hit Play Without Words, an utterly original music-theater piece set in Swinging Sixties London. Winner of the 2003 Olivier Award for both Best Entertainment and Best Choreography—and described by The Independent (UK) as “Bourne’s cleverest idea yet”—Play Without Words tells its story completely without dialogue, relying instead on the equally powerful languages of movement and music. Set to a newly composed jazz score by Terry Davies, the piece is loosely based on Harold Pinter and Joseph Losey’s 1963 film, The Servant, which starred Dirk Bogarde. Inspired by British new wave cinema, designer Lez Brotherston (who collaborated with Bourne in their last New York triumph, Swan Lake) has set this thrilling theatrical exploration of class conflict and sexual desire against a dazzling London backdrop.
In addition to the gala performance, seventeen additional performances of Play Without Words will take place in the BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton St): Mar 16—19, 22—26, 29—Apr 2 at 7:30pm, Mar 19, 26 & Apr 2 at 2pm, and Mar 20, 27 & Apr 3 at 3pm. Tickets, priced at $25, 45, 65, and 75, may be purchased by calling BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100 or by visiting www.bam.org.
Play Without Words is presented in association with Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre.
Credits
Major support for Play Without Words is provided by the British Council. Leadership support for BAM Theater is provided by The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc. The Shubert Foundation Inc., and The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.
Programming in the BAM Harvey Theater is endowed by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. BAM thanks The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, and Richard B. Fisher and Jeanne Donovan Fisher, for their special endowment gifts.
2005 Spring Season Gala 3
BAM thanks its many donors and sponsors, including: New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The New York City Council, Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council, Brooklyn Delegation of the U.S. House of Representatives, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, The Howard Gilman Foundation, The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, Richard B. Fisher and Jeanne Donovan Fisher, William I. Campbell and Christine Wächter Campbell, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, The Florence Gould Foundation, The Kovner Foundation, The Starr Foundation, Diane and Adam E. Max, Judith R. and Alan H. Fishman, The Shubert Foundation, Inc., Skirball Foundation, and Forest City Ratner Companies. JPMorgan Chase is BAM’s lead corporate partner. Bloomberg Radio AM1130 is the official broadcast sponsor. New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge is the official hotel for the Spring Season. R/GA is the sponsor of BAM.org. Yamaha is the official piano of BAM.
General information
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, BAMcafé, and Shakespeare & Co. BAMshop are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn’s only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music on Friday and Saturday nights. A $21 three-course dinner at BAMcafé is available Thu-Sat for BAM Rose Cinemas ticket holders (day of screening only). BAMcafé is open Thursday-Saturday from 5pm-closing. Additionally, BAMcafé is open two hours prior to all Howard Gilman Opera House and Harvey Theater performances.
Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue; D, M, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Flatbush Avenue Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM
For ticket and BAMbus information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit www.bam.org.
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