2025 Annual Gala Digital Program

THE 2025 PUBLIC THEATER ANNUAL GALA

HEADLINED BY LESLIE ODOM JR. FEATURING A SPECIAL PERFORMANCE BY RENÉE ELISE GOLDSBERRY

Wednesday, June 11, 2025
6:00 PM Cocktail Reception
7:00 PM Dinner
On the lawn outside The Delacorte Theater

DONATE

AUCTION

PERFORMERS

Leslie Odom Jr.

Artist

Leslie Odom Jr.

Artist

is a multifaceted Tony and Grammy Award-winning, three-time Emmy and two-time Academy Award-nominated vocalist, songwriter, actor, producer and New York Times bestselling author. With a career that spans all performance genres, Odom has received recognition for his excellence and achievements in Broadway, television, film, and music. He was nominated for two Tony Awards last season as producer and star of the revival of Ossie Davis’ Purlie Victorious. For his performance as legendary soul singer Sam Cooke in Regina King’s One Night in Miami, Odom was nominated for two Academy Awards, and he is a Tony and Grammy Award-winner for his work in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Hamilton the musical.

Renée Elise Goldsberry

Artist

Renée Elise Goldsberry

Artist

is a Tony and Grammy Award–winning, Emmy-nominated actress, singer, and producer known for her powerhouse work across stage and screen. On June 6, 2025, she released her highly anticipated debut album, Who I Really Am—a deeply personal, genre-blending collection of 13 tracks that explore love, heartbreak, and self-discovery. The album follows Goldsberry’s standout role as Wickie Roy in the critically acclaimed 2024 Netflix series Girls5Eva, for which she earned Critics Choice and TCA Award nominations. 2024 also saw the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Satisfied, a documentary about her life executive produced by Kelli O'Hara, Audra McDonald, and Steven Spielberg for Amblin Entertainment. Goldsberry won a Tony and a Grammy for originating the role of Angelica Schuyler in the groundbreaking Broadway phenom Hamilton, also receiving a Primetime Emmy nomination for Disney+’s filmed version of the musical. A Broadway veteran, her memorable stage work includes seminal musicals such as Rent, The Color Purple, The Lion King, Dreamgirls, and the play Good People opposite Frances McDormand, among countless others. Her screen credits include the title role in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks starring Oprah Winfrey, CBS’s The Good Wife, the independent feature Waves, and two Daytime Emmy nominations for work on One Life to Live.

GALA PROGRAM MUSICIANS

Steven Walker

Music Director / Guitar

Christopher Cadenhead

Piano

Eric England

Bass

David Chiverton

Drums

COCKTAIL HOUR MUSICIANS

Gavin Gray

Bass / Rahul Shah Trio

Tommaso Perazzo

Piano, Rahul Shah Trio

Rahul Shah

Saxophone, Rahul Shah Trio

HONOREES

Jerome L. Greene Foundation

Honoree

Jerome L. Greene Foundation

Honoree

supports select programs that make a significant impact on the lives of all New Yorkers in the areas of the arts, education, medicine, and social justice. Its 40-year history is grounded in the vision of its founder, Jerry Greene, to give back to the city he loved. Today, the Foundation honors this commitment by continuing to fund quality programs and by identifying new ways to increase access to the arts and to education, create opportunities for ground-breaking medical research, and help ensure social justice for all. www.jlgreene.org

Paula Scher

Honoree

Paula Scher

Honoree

is one of the most acclaimed graphic designers in the world. Since 1994 she has designed identities, season campaigns, and posters for The Public Theater that have redefined the look of modern branding for the performing arts. Scher is a principal in the New York office of the distinguished international design consultancy Pentagram, where she has created identity systems for organizations including the Museum of Modern Art, Shake Shack, Citibank, Microsoft, Tiffany & Co., the Library of Congress, the High Line, and more. Over the course of her five-decade career, Scher has been the recipient of hundreds of industry honors including the National Design Award, the D&AD Special President’s Award, the AIGA Medal, and the Royal Designer for Industry. Her designs, including her posters for The Public, can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, the Library of Congress, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and other institutions. She is the author of several books, including 25 Years at the Public: A Love Story (2020). Scher and her work are also the subject of a documentary in the Netflix series, “Abstract: The Art of Design.”

CO-CHAIRS

Susan Edelstein

Kenny Leon

Teresa Tsai

BENEFIT COMMITTEE

The Nora Ephron & Nicholas Pileggi Foundation

Victoria James

Lisa Kim & Eunu Chun

Elyse & Michael Newhouse

Betsy Smith

2025 ANNUAL GALA DONORS

JOE PAPP TABLE

Jerome L. Greene Foundation
Alexandra Shiva & Jonathan Marc Sherman
Teresa Tsai

SHAKESPEARE TABLE

Jason Blum & Lauren Schuker Blum
Michael Bosworth & Dave Guggenheim / Goldman Sachs Gives
Hilary & Joseph Feshbach
Mychal Douglas Harrison
Chris & Elizabeth Hogbin
Julia Pershan & Jonathan Cohen
Michael and Paula Price
Rob Schlein and Emily Kroenlein
Lise Strickler & Mark Gallogly
Arielle Tepper
Tiger Baron Foundation
Warner Bros. Discovery
Audrey & Zygi Wilf/Wilf Family Foundation

ASTOR TABLE

Susan & David Edelstein
Jayne Lipman & Bob Goodman
Joan Rechnitz
Wendi Rose
The Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation
Frances & Frank Wilkinson

DELACORTE TABLE

Andi & Tom Bernstein
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Kurt Chauviere & BJ Sullivan
Continental Grain Company
The Nora Ephron & Nicholas Pileggi Foundation
Liane Ginsberg
Hamilton
Joseph Harper and Mark Stephanz
Lisa Kim & Eunu Chun
Ashley Leeds & Christopher M. Harland
Kim Y. Lew
M&T Bank
Miranda Family Fund
Aela and Don Morgan
Hans & Kate Morris
Elyse & Michael Newhouse
No Guarantees Productions
Elizabeth T. Peabody
Janice Cook Roberts
Michael Roberts
Select Equity Group
Kurt N. & Katherine L. Simon
Angela Vallot & Jim Basker
William B. O'Connor Fund
Ted & Anne Clarke Wolff
Alisa Amarosa Wood & Alastair Wood
Lauren & Julian Yap
Yorke Construction Corporation
Kevin Miu & Sascia Yuan
Zegar Family Foundation

SHAKESPEARE TICKET

Jody & John Arnhold
Peggy C. Davis & Gordon J. Davis
Neil de Crescenzo
Rosanne Leshner
Maya Browne and Laurence Pels
Natalie & Jonathan Silverstein
Anonymous

DELACORTE TICKET

baker & Dr. Nadine Chang
David & Sheila Barrett
CCS Fundraising
Gray Coleman / Carrie Casselman, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Katie Couric and John Molner
Lisa E. Davis/Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz
Francesca DeCurtis
Yrthya Dinzey-Flores & Antonino P. D'Ambrosio
Alina & Rich Dovere
Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin
Ennead Architects
Envoie Projects
Mari Galvin
Arielle Goren & Dr. Andrew Goldstone
Suzanne & Stuart Grant
Jeffrey & Paula Gural
Kay & Bill Gurtin
John Gore Organization
Kasirer
Ulrike Klopfer
Corey and Michael Labadorf
Kate Lear & Jon LaPook
Kenny Leon & Jennifer Thompson
Richard H. Levy and Lorraine Gallard
Alexandra MacDowell
Mellon Foundation
Nancy Molesworth
Movers + Shakespeares
Music Theatre International, Drew & Samantha Cohen
Orange Barrel Media
Damian Payne & Jeffrey Lyman
The Shubert Organization
Andrew Siegel & Hillary Herskowitz
Monica Souza
Elizabeth Stern
Sheila&Lee Stewart
Ken Sunshine & Nancy Hollander
UTA
Susan Golden & Michael Volpe, Venable LLP
Caroline A. Wamsler, PhD and DeWayne N. Phillips
Ken & Rita Warner
Barry & Fran Weissler
Richard & Lisa Witten
Elaine & Irving Wolbrom
Anonymous

DONATION

Susan & Alan Bushell
Drs. George & Mary Campbell
Ron Chernow
Maxine Isaacs
Amy & Josh Kuriloff
Alex Price
Anna & George Sampas
Ruth Calvin Scharf
Fern & Lenard Tessler

Special Thanks

The Public Theater extends our deepest thanks to everyone who made this evening possible, including, but not limited to:

August Twenty Eight; Baayork Lee; Betsy Smith, President and CEO (CPC); Broken Shed Vodka; Brooklyn Glass; Brooks Brothers; Central Park Conservancy; Citizens; Classic Harbor Line; Concord Theatricals; COQODAQ; CollectibleXchange; dineDK; Empire; Gracious Hospitality Management; Great Jones Distilling Co.; HBO Productions; Hillary Herskowitz & Andrew Siegel; Indochine; Jean-Marie Heins; Jean's NYC; JetBlue Airways; John Breglio; José Andrés Group; Joyce Varvatos; Kelly Bishop; Kirstin Huber; Like a Local Tours; Lin-Manuel Miranda; Mermaid Oyster Bar; Metropolitan Museum of Art, Department of Live Arts; Michael Patrick King; MPL Music Publishing; New York City Department of Parks & Recreation; New York Road Runners; David Nicksay; No Guarantees; Octopus Theatricals; Olivia Ray; Other Half Brewing Company; Pastis; Patrick Willingham; Paul Tazewell; Pentagram; Prima Pavé; Priscilla Lopez; Public Theater Productions; Rashad Chambers; Rian Johnson; Royal Shakespeare Company; Sarah Jessica Parker; Seelye Designs; Stan Steen, Director of Film and Events (CPC); Susan and David Edelstein; Teresa Tsai; The Bridge; The New York Sewing Center; The Plaza, A Fairmont Managed Hotel; Union Square Events; Universal Pictures; Uttara Marti; Versace; Victoria James