Bravi tutti

Dallas' AT&T Performing Arts Center choreographs applause-worthy gala with Broadway star

Grace Cook, Lewis Chang

Photo by Nate Rehlander

The AT&T Performing Arts Center's 2022 Bravo! Gala took many of the 200 attendees places they'd never been before.

In a presentation as well-choreographed as the shows that play there, the November 19 event moved patrons around various parts of the Winspear Opera House for a "progressive cocktail hour" featuring performances by the center's resident companies at precise intervals:

6:40-6:50 pm: Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico in the East Lobby
6:55-7:05 pm: Texas Ballet Theater in the PNC Members Lounge on the second floor
7:10-7:20 pm: The Dallas Opera on the Fourth Floor Landing
7:25-7:35 pm: Dallas Black Dance Theatre in the PNC Members Lounge

Guests had just enough time to fuel up on passed hors d'oeuvres and refill their champagne glasses before sashaying along to the next performance locale.

Dinner gathered everyone into the West Lobby, where the center's new exclusive onsite caterer, G Texas, prepared a sumptuous feast of spring greens salad, wood-fired tournedo of beef and pistachio crusted halibut, and creme brulee bread pudding for dessert.

During dinner, gala chairs Morgan W. Cox III and Derrall Hill announced that AT&T would be matching contributions up to $15,000 and encouraged patrons to (pearl clutch!) turn on their cellphones and consider texting a gift.

As dinner wound down, a trio from Dallas Theatre Center performed a musical medley. "What the World Needs Now (is love, sweet love)" had patrons swaying and singing along at their tables. Their finale, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," got folks feeling festive — punctuated by the holiday lights shining in trees outside the building.

There was one more "move" to be made, to the Margaret McDermott Performance Hall. Attendees filed in and ascended stairs onto the stage for a rare chance to view the audience chamber from a performer's eye. With coffee or cocktails in hand and popcorn and truffles awaiting them on tables, guests took in touching tributes to the evening's honorees, the late Eugene and Margaret McDermott, founders of the Eugene McDermott Foundation. A video presentation praised their contributions to Dallas — particularly in the arts — and their daughter Mary Cook and granddaughter Grace Cook spoke about them personally, from the heart.

The evening came to a blockbuster conclusion with an intimate onstage performance by Broadway star Joaquina Kalukango. Kalukango won the 2022 Tony award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her performance as Nelly O'Brien in Paradise Square — and a passionate performance of her number "Let it Burn" demonstrated exactly why.

Her rendition of "For Good" from Wicked brought tears to eyes around the room, and she sweetly dedicated "The Impossible Dream" to the McDermott-Cook family. Kalukango will soon take over the role of the Witch in Into the Woods on Broadway.

DJ music and a photo booth were late-night options for those who wanted to extend the evening. Those who chose to head to the valet line were greeted with one more sweet treat: A gift bag containing fresh-baked scones and orange juice and champagne for next-morning mimosas.

In total, the Bravo! Gala raised more than $420,000 to support the AT&T Performing Arts Center’s programming and education and community engagement initiatives.

Photo by Nate Rehlander

Hal and Diane Brierley, Ellen Winspear, Wendy Lopez

Spotted in the crowd, enjoying the evening, were numerous Dallas arts leaders, patrons, and supportive dignitaries, including Bess and Ted Enloe, Hal and Diane Brierley, Ellen Winspear, Wendy Lopez, Jeff Netzer, Lynn McBee, Brad Pritchett, David Chadd, Lewis Chang, Daffodil Bias, Ahmad Garrett-Price, Gillian Clifford, Melissa M. Young, Bianca Melidor, Sean J. Smith, Mark Beneke, Michelle Wong, Robbie and Ashleigh Kinney, Amber and John Scanlan, Chris Heinbaugh, and Joe Riggs.

fundraisers galas concerts

A Glittering Celebration

Christine Baranski brings Hollywood sparkle to Dallas luncheon

Photo by Kim Leeson

Karen Hughes White, Caren Lock, Christine Baranski, Shonn Brown.

The Omni Dallas Hotel shimmered in ruby tones on November 14 as more than 950 supporters gathered to celebrate a milestone four decades in the making: the Texas Women’s Foundation’s Ruby Anniversary Luncheon.

The afternoon blended Hollywood sparkle — courtesy of award-winning actress Christine Baranski — with heartfelt tributes to the visionary women who sparked a movement in Texas 40 years ago.

The annual luncheon, one of the region’s most significant events advancing women and girls, raised an impressive $840,000. More than $112,000 of that came in during the program itself, underscoring the energy in the room and the urgency of the mission.

TXWF used the occasion to announce a landmark figure: a cumulative $115 million in impact since its founding in 1985. That number includes nearly $90 million in grants to organizations serving women and girls, as well as more than $25 million invested in research, advocacy, and leadership initiatives designed to shape long-term change.

Board chair Cris Zertuche Wong opened the program by welcoming seven of the Foundation’s 11 living founders, who also served as the event's honorary co-chairs: Susan Shamburger Bagwell, the Honorable Harryette Ehrhardt, Catalina E. Garcia, Frances Griffin-Brown, Helen LaKelly Hunt, the Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison, Madeline Mandell, Patricia Meadows, Gwendolyn Oliver, CoYoTe PhoeNix, and Rebecca Russell Sykes.

Their presence cast a powerful through line from 1985 to 2025, reminding guests how a collective of 19 bold women stepped across differences in background, beliefs, and political leanings to create an organization with the singular purpose of supporting Texas women and their families.

Wong also recognized former Foundation leaders and Ruby Anniversary co-chairs from across the decades: Gail Griswold and Brenda Jackson representing the 1980s; Laura Estrada, the 1990s; Helen Frank, the 2000s; and Shonn Brown, the 2020s.

TXWF president and CEO Karen Hughes White spoke to the road ahead, noting that while the founders’ vision remains timeless, the challenges facing Texas women have grown more complex. “It will take all of us to create meaningful, lasting, systemic change that levels the playing field for women and, in turn, creates a strong and vibrant Texas for all,” she said.

Throughout the luncheon, guests were treated to archival video clips of the founders recalling how they built TXWF from scratch: the meetings held around kitchen tables, the spirited debates, the shared belief that change was not only possible but necessary.

Brown then honored each of the 11 living founders, as well as those who have passed, noting that their collective voice will be further amplified in a forthcoming 40-story collection documenting TXWF's history.

The afternoon’s featured guest, introduced by Target executive and event sponsor Sabrina Thomas, was the incomparable Christine Baranski, the Emmy and Tony-winning actress of The Good Wife, Cybil, and The Gilded Age.

In an onstage conversation moderated by former board chair Caren Lock, Baranski charmed the audience with stories from her upbringing in Buffalo, New York, where she grew up in a working-class Polish American family. She spoke of perseverance, discipline, and dreaming big, qualities that carried her to Juilliard and ultimately into a celebrated four-decade career spanning television, film, and theater.

As the luncheon drew to a close, the mood was equal parts celebratory and forward-looking. Forty years in, the Texas Women’s Foundation continues to push for equity with the same passion that fueled its founding.

Photo by Kim Leeson

Karen Hughes White, Caren Lock, Christine Baranski, Shonn Brown.

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