TACT's SUPER SWEET 16 GALA

At sixteen most people are learning to drive, but the TACT Empire is well on its way to world domination with the official appointment of Angela Lansbury as Dame of TACT at our "Sweet 16 Gala" on May 3rd at the historic Hudson Theatre on West 44th Street.

On hand to celebrate the esteemed appointment were Broadway performers TONY Award winner, Faith Prince (The Little Mermaid), Annaleigh Ashford (Wicked, Legally Blonde), Catherine Brunell (Mary Poppins, Thoroughly Modern Millie), Mara Davi (A Chorus Line, The Drowsy Chaperone), Aaron Lazar (Tale of Two Cities, Les Miserables, Light in the Piazza), Ken Page (Happiness, Cats), and Meredith Paterson (White Christmas, 42nd St.), along with TACT company members Mary Bacon, Cynthia Darlow, Todd Gearhart, Larry Keith, Jack Koenig, Ron McClary, John Plumpis, and Jenn Thompson. Under the guidance of TACT Co-Artistic Director Scott Alan Evans and musical director Larry Goldberg, the musical tribute to Ms. Lansbury included, as is now tradition, a special induction of the new Dame of the TACT Empire. Ms. Lansbury joins 2008 honoree Dame Julie Harris.

The night began with a cocktail reception and a silent auction where guests bid on priceless items including autographed scripts by Ms. Lansbury, a private party and recital hosted by TACT Co-Artistic Director Cynthia Harris, and a one night theatrical event in the TACT studio. Among the special guests, there to celebrate with TACT were Jayne Atkinson, Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller, and producer Jeffrey Richards.

After dinner came the evening’s entertainment. Selections from some of Ms. Lansbury’s most famous Broadway shows, including Gypsy and Mame, were given stirring renditions. A highlight of the evening was Ms. Prince’s performance of "If He Walked Into My Life" from composer and lyricist Jerry Herman’s Mame. TACT Co-Artistic Director Simon Jones, currently starring with Ms. Lansbury in Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit on Broadway, kept the evening lively as the master of ceremonies, and guest Auctioneer, Charles Bailey-Gates, worked his magic with the crowd in the Live Auction.

The very special gala was an enormous success, proving once again that the curtain never lowers on the TACT Empire.



Photos by Jennifer Maufrais Kelly