Heaven and hell were on display at the Young Lions of the New York Public Library's Dante: the Devil and the Divine benefit, and guests were prompted to pick a persona—devil or angel?—and dress appropriately. Most of the young lions—a group with more gray hairs than you might expect—opted for standard party attire and picked up red sequined devil horns and tinsel halos being doled out near the entrance to get into character.
The library's events operations coordinator Laura Ellenbogen oversaw the transformation of the typically serene library into heaven- and hell-themed areas. In heaven (aka the hallway behind Astor Hall), Musters & Company created a sky-inspired seating area with blue couches and tables topped with feather and candle centerpieces. BML Stage Lighting and Productions used white lights to create the illusion of floating clouds on the wall. A stairway lit with moving red lights that looked like flames led the way towards hell (aka the Bartos Forum), and an actor dressed as the devil pointed guests into the room, which was filled with red lights, couches and pillows. Costumed dancers wrangled by Chi Chi Valenti swayed on top of platforms painted with flames.
Despite the theme's literary pretenses, the 750 guests got a prom-like dance party with DJ Johnny Dynell spinning a mix of disco, pop and club music.
—Jill Musguire
Read about last year's Young Lion's benefit...
The library's events operations coordinator Laura Ellenbogen oversaw the transformation of the typically serene library into heaven- and hell-themed areas. In heaven (aka the hallway behind Astor Hall), Musters & Company created a sky-inspired seating area with blue couches and tables topped with feather and candle centerpieces. BML Stage Lighting and Productions used white lights to create the illusion of floating clouds on the wall. A stairway lit with moving red lights that looked like flames led the way towards hell (aka the Bartos Forum), and an actor dressed as the devil pointed guests into the room, which was filled with red lights, couches and pillows. Costumed dancers wrangled by Chi Chi Valenti swayed on top of platforms painted with flames.
Despite the theme's literary pretenses, the 750 guests got a prom-like dance party with DJ Johnny Dynell spinning a mix of disco, pop and club music.
—Jill Musguire
Read about last year's Young Lion's benefit...
An actor dressed as the devil welcomed guests into hell at the Young Lions of the New York Public Library's Dante: the Devil and the Divine benefit.
Musters & Company created an all-red area of couches, pillows and votive candles to resemble hell in the Bartos Forum.
In heaven, Musters & Company's centerpieces had floating candles in large globes surrounded by white feathers.
Angel-branded headbands and change purses were doled out for guests to get into character for the party.
