The opening night gala typically serves as a fund-raiser and the official kickoff for the upcoming season, but this year’s gala took on special significance as a showcase of the new space. “We designed the gala so that all of the guests could experience the building, and we wanted the new space be the star of the evening,” managing director Edgar Dobie said. To set that tone, the evening began with cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres on the new concourse level, and guests were also offered guided, behind-the-scenes tours of the new building, including the new, 200-seat Arlene and Robert Kogod cradle theater. Attendees were then ushered into the Kreeger Theater, one of three performance spaces at the center, for an exclusive one-night-only performance by the Manzari Brothers, Tony Award winners Alice Ripley and Brian Stokes Mitchell, as well as the cast of the Arena Stage production of Oklahoma!, the first show staged in the new center.
While the performance drew a standing ovation, the highlight of the evening was the seated dinner that took place on three different levels within the Mead Center. Arena Stage staff and vendors worked for an hour and twenty minutes to turn over the open spaces, all of which were full of guests during the cocktail hour, and set up five different table designs created by Amaryllis Inc. owner Rick Davis.
This creative focus also made its way to the plates, where Design Cuisine created a colorful three-course menu that included a trio of beets appetizer and a gravity-defying dark chocolate pistachio marquis dessert.
Correction: This event report was amended to identify Rick Davis of Amaryllis Inc. as the designer of the tables.
