A Brand New Day

Broadway legend holds court at jewel-toned Dallas Theater Center gala

This year was a big milestone for Dallas Theater Center, and the Tony Award-winning company celebrated accordingly at its annual gala.

Titled "Centerstage 40: A Brand New Day," the gala not only commemorated its 40th year of fundraising but also 65 years of DTC itself. The event's name was a nod to the musical The Wiz, which is currently enjoying a Broadway revival. The gala's guest star, musical theater legend André De Shields, starred in its original 1975 run.

Event chair Hamilton A. Sneed, along with honorary chairs T.D. and Serita Jakes and Helen and Frank Risch, welcomed arts enthusiasts, Dallas luminaries and philanthropists, and colorfully dressed guests to Fashion Industry Gallery on May 4.

The cabaret-inspired evening was styled after 54 Below, an intimate New York City performance venue/supper club known as Broadway's Living Room.

Upon entry, guests were greeted with Lallier Champagne before ducking into luxuriously styled rooms featuring live entertainment by Diane & Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company members Tiffany Solano and Zachary J. Willis, accompanied by Vicky Nooe and Jesse Fry.

In adjoining rooms, a pop-up gallery offering a look back on DTC’s Public Works and Project Discovery was on display. The nearly 260 gala guests were encouraged to write their favorite things about DTC on the temporary walls, with several mentions of how it improves the community appearing throughout the night.

Bars served up several different ages of The Macallan scotch, along with the evening’s signature cocktail “The Ruby,” featuring Divertido tequila.

Once everyone was seated at the rainbow-inspired tables, Sneed welcomed the crowd and recognized the 1984 Centerstage chairs Linda Custard, Bess Enloe, and Jane Dune. Spotted applauding in the crowd were Anita Hawkins, Kimberly Alexander, Chuck Steelman, Andy Smith and Paul von Wupperfeld, Diane and Hal Brierley, and Kristen and Reed Gibbons.

Vestals Catering served a three-course meal with menu items inspired by headliner De Shields and the 2023-24 DTC season, before newly appointed interim artistic director Jonathan Norton delivered the Linda and Bill Custard Award to DTC Life Trustee Donna M. Wilhelm.

Auctioneer Morgan Hopson then kicked up the intensity by auctioning luxury experience packages that included an in-home dinner with celebrity chef Tiffany Derry and fellow female chefs Janice Provost, Tracy Miller, Nikky Phinyawatana, and Jill Bates; a NYC experience with tickets to the Broadway revival of The Wiz; and an ultimate Napa experience featuring visits to over 10 wineries and vineyards. But it was the Ferragamo brand experience with two tickets to the spring/summer 2025 runway show in Milan that stole the show, selling for $45,000.

Remarks by Brandi Giles, DTC director of Public Works, followed, which also included a heartfelt introduction of Christian Wilson, a former Project Discovery student and current theater director at Lancaster High School.

His message set the tone for the Public Works paddle raise before it was time for DTC executive director Kevin Moriarty to introduce the evening's headliner.

The Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award-winning De Shields first took an excitement-inducing stroll through the audience, greeting, complimenting, posing with, and absolutely making the night of many attendees. He then performed such notable hits as “Let the Good Times Roll,” “Stand By Me,” “Bad Boy,” “Symphony Rap,” and an entertaining mash-up of sultry, soulful tunes.

Proceeds raised from Centerstage makes it possible for DTC to continue the inclusive and creative work of the organization with community and engagement programs such as Project Discovery, the Public Works Pageant, and many others. See DTC's 2024-25 season here.

Photo by Tamytha Cameron

C'mone Wingo, Venise Stuart.

Sneed will return as the event chair for Dallas Theater Center’s Centerstage 41 event in 2025.

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Centerstage spotlight

Showstopping Dallas Theater Center gala raises the curtain on a new era

Photo by Tamytha Cameron

Zeke Williams, Grace Cook, Jeff Netzer, Lynn McBee, Kristina Kirkenaer-Hart

On a picture-perfect Saturday night, more than 250 of Dallas’ most devoted arts patrons gathered at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre for CENTERSTAGE 42, the annual gala benefiting Dallas Theater Center. The elegant evening on May 2 proved to be both a celebration of Dallas theater’s past and a curtain-raising for its future.

As the sun began to set across the Diane and Hal Brierley Esplanade in the Dallas Arts District, guests descended the outdoor staircase for an al fresco cocktail reception. One popular stop was just inside the doors of the lobby: A "Ziya" digital photo booth from local company Make Life Sweeter that turned patrons' posed photos into stylized watercolor portraits.

Throughout the venue, installations highlighting Dallas Theater Center’s Public Works initiative reminded attendees that the organization’s impact stretches from the stage to the neighborhoods of North Texas.

A multicourse dinner was served on the stage inside the Potter Rose Performance Hall, making attendees feel like the stars of the show in the intimate, theatrical atmosphere.

One of the night’s most meaningful moments came with the presentation of the prestigious Linda and Bill Custard Award to Larry Angelilli, recognized for more than three decades of leadership and advocacy that helped shape Dallas’ cultural landscape. The gala also paused to honor the memories of two beloved arts patrons, Linda Custard and Sarah Warnecke, both longtime champions of Dallas Theater Center and the broader arts community.

Inspired by their example, guests bid high for fabulous live auction items, including trips to Palm Springs and Hawaii and a private dinner with actor Michael Urie at a home on White Rock Lake. A paddle raise followed, with patrons giving generously all around the room.

Every $100 counted - from upstage, downstage, and closer to the wings - as the sold-out fundraiser's earnings totaled an impressive $545,000 in support of the Tony Award-winning theater company and its education and community engagement programs, including Project Discovery, Summer Stage, Saturday Sessions, and Community Workshops.

It wouldn't have been a theater benefit without a showstopping performer. When scheduled headliner Michael Urie was called away for filming commitments tied to Shrinking, Dallas Theater Center called on homegrown talent — and the result brought the crowd to its feet. Broadway performer Tiffany Mann, a DFW native with credits including Be More Chill and Waitress, delivered a powerhouse performance - and a few sparkly outfit changes.

The entire program was emceed by Bri Woods and Akron Watson, both fresh off Dallas Theater Center’s acclaimed production of Ragtime. Woods, an SMU Meadows graduate and Linda and Bill Custard Meadows Actor in the Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company, represented the next generation of Dallas theater talent, while Tony-, Grammy-, and Emmy-winning Watson brought Broadway pedigree and star power to the gala stage.

This year’s gala leadership reflected the milestone spirit of the evening. Rather than appointing a single chair, Dallas Theater Center reunited gala chairs from the past decade to lead CENTERSTAGE 42 collectively. Leadership included Jennifer and Peter Altabef, Mickie and Jeff Bragalone, Stephanie Byrd, Scott Davis, Melinda Johnson, Brett Levy, Michelle Lockhart, Ann Mahowald, Deborah McMurray, Scott Moore, Scott Orr, Andy Smith, Paul Von Wupperfeld, Hamilton Sneed, and Krista Farber Weinstein.

The evening also marked an exciting turning point for Dallas Theater Center as it prepares to enter a new era under incoming Enloe/Rose Artistic Director Jaime Castañeda, a TCU grad who is making his return to DFW. The affable leader introduced himself to the audience with a few fun personal anecdotes (including one involving an Easter bunny suit) and expressed his enthusiasm for the vision and direction of DTC.

Cheers went up as Castañeda made a surprise announcement: That The Lehman Trilogy would be the final show in DTC's 2026-27 season.

Upon retrieving their cars from valet, guests departed with an ingenious gift on their front seat: A thank-you note and invitation for two tickets to the DTC's next production, the world premiere of Jonathan Norton's play Malcolm X and Redd Foxx Washing Dishes at Jimmy’s Chicken Shack in Harlem -on stage now through June 7. "We look forward to welcoming you back to the theater!" read the note.

Spotted in the crowd, enjoying the evening, were DTC patrons and supporters including Zeke Williams, Grace Cook, Jeff Netzer, Lynn McBee, Kristina Kirkenaer-Hart, Ann Mahowald, Michelle Lockhart, Hamilton A Sneed, Krista Farber Weinstein, Caroline Hamilton, Brandi Willis, Paul von Wupperfeld, Andy Smith, Mickie Bragalone, Jeff Bragalone, Deborah McMurray, Glen Davison, Cynthia Smoot, Jeff Netzer, Jeremy Lock, D'Andra Simmons Lock, Lynn Richardson, Elvenn Richardson, Michelle Lockhart, Krista Weinstein, Paul von Wupperfeld, Sarah Jackson, Andy Smith, and many more. (Scroll through the photos, above, to see highlights of the night.)

Photo by Tamytha Cameron

Zeke Williams, Grace Cook, Jeff Netzer, Lynn McBee, Kristina Kirkenaer-Hart

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