The predinner reception took over the venue's rear Green Rooms, where guests could check out the silent-auction items and munch on passed portobello mushroom and red pepper satay, as well as cheese tortes with sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts, courtesy of Ridgewells. At the same time, V.I.P. ticket-holders mingled in the upstairs balcony, which offered panoramic views of the Washington Monument and the National Mall.

In the main space, Ridgewells dressed the tables with all-gold settings, including sheer gold organza with swirl patterns laid atop red and purple twill. Syzygy Event Productions created custom-made, two-foot-tall "Hollywood on the Hill" centerpieces depicting searchlights topped with tragedy and comedy masks. And during the program, featuring The View’s Joy Behar as the comic headliner, guests dined on Tuscan short ribs with Gorgonzola demi glaze and macadamia-encrusted red snapper with chutney.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct that the table settings were provided by Ridgewells.

   —Robyn Mincher