| EVENT REPORT 02.20.09 2:00 PM |
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| Building Bridges |
| The Brooklyn Academy of Music's partnership with London's Old Vic Theater officially got under way last month, but Tuesday night saw its first benefit with the premiere of The Winter's Tale. |
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The Brooklyn Academy of Music isn't letting the sluggish economy dampen its plans for expansion, both physically and creatively. Its partnership with London's Old Vic Theater, called the Bridge Project, saw the second premiere of its inaugural year Tuesday night with the first outing of William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. About 500 guests, including Kevin Spacey, Ethan Hawke, and Patricia Clarkson, showed up for a dinner, performance, and dessert reception on the stage of BAM's Howard Gilman Opera House.
Producers at BAM, including director of special events Glenn Stiskal, wanted to play with the tension between hot and cold—a metaphor explored in the play—in their decor for the dining area, so they decided to cut the stage in half, with help from Bella Meyer of Fleurs Bella. One side saw hanging icicles and dead branches covered in frosty blue lights, while the other half featured lush, flowering trees and wooden deck chairs under the soft glow of orange and yellow. |
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PHOTO GALLERY |
 | BAM set the stage with hot and cold sections, so guests could eat dessert under flowering branches or blue icicles.
Photo: Emily Gilbert for BizBash |
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 | A topiary of the character Hermione from The Winter's Tale stood at the center of the stage during the dessert reception.
Photo: Emily Gilbert for BizBash |
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 | DJ Andrew Andrew presided over the party from a booth inside one of the opera house's balconies.
Photo: Emily Gilbert for BizBash |
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 | Seating arrangements on either side of the stage evoked the seasons they imitated, with lawn furniture on the warm, flowering half and plush couches under the wintry light.
Photo: Emily Gilbert for BizBash |
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 | The icier portion of the stage drew inspiration from the lobby's current winter decor, featuring BAM artist Chris Piazza's sculpture "The Snowshoe Salesman."
Photo: Emily Gilbert for BizBash |
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 | Long Island vineyard Peconic Bay provided the night's wine.
Photo: Emily Gilbert for BizBash |
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 | Decor echoing the dichotomy onstage ushered guests down the aisle following the play's performance.
Photo: Emily Gilbert for BizBash |
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 | Great Performances provided catering services for both the dessert reception and the more intimate dinner served before the play.
Photo: Emily Gilbert for BizBash |
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 | Desserts on the menu included miniature parfaits and baked peaches with vanilla wafers.
Photo: Emily Gilbert for BizBash |
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Before the performance, 325 guests gathered on the stage for a dinner catered by Great Performances. And while they and others watched the play at BAM's neighboring Harvey Theater, the crew brought out a surprise centerpiece for the dessert hour, a giant topiary of The Winter's Tale's Hermione. The figure helped further divide the stage while guests picked over bite-size parfaits and blueberry crumbles, and enjoyed drinks provided by local winery Peconic Bay and Bass beer.
The Bridge Project is a three-year effort, and The Winter's Tale is just one of theatrical endeavors planned to bring in talent from the Old Vic and Sam Mendes's Neal Street Productions. The iniative itself is a part of the even broader Next Stage Campaign, which has BAM planning to raise more than $300 milliion in the coming years, with the most notable beneficiaries being a planned 263-seat theater and an expansion of the group's cinematic complex. Tuesday helped put as much as $500,000 in that pot.
—Michael O'Connell
RELATED TOPICS
Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Winter's Tale, The Bridge Project
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