WP Theater’s Annual Gala 2023

WP THEATER ANNUAL 2023 GALA

On May 8, 2023, we toasted WP Theater’s 45th Anniversary Season at the Edison Ballroom at our Annual Gala. It was a dazzling event, with so many titans and talents of the American Theater gathered together to celebrate trailblazing Women+ artists and leaders.

The Gala was chaired by WP Board Members JOSEPH P. PETITO and RACHEL SUSSMAN and vice-chaired by MCJ AMELIOR FOUNDATION, BOND Theatrical, THE JOHN GORE ORGANIZATION, JAMES L. NEDERLANDER and NICK SCANDALIOS, JOSEPH P. PETITO, MINDY RICH, THE SHUBERT ORGANIZATION, INC., SHUCKED, LISA TIMMEL & DAVID MARKUS, BARBARA WHITMAN, and BETH WILLIAMS.

The evening was hosted by remarkable two-time Tony nominee, Pulitzer Finalist, and OBIE Award-winning Writer and Actress, HEIDI SCHRECK, as we honored President of the John Gore Organization and Chair of the Broadway League LAUREN REID and Academy Award-winning Actress, Singer, and Dancer ARIANA DEBOSE.

The night was full of exclusive appearances and performances from some of this year’s most celebrated and brightest stars. We opened with a brilliant jazz reinterpretation of “Bohemian Rhapsody” from recording artist and WP Lab Playwright, QUEEN ESTHER; then had the amazing cast from WP’s WEIGHTLESS back in town to give us a number from their Lortel Award and Drama Desk Award-nominated run; 2023 Tony Award-Winning Best Leading Actor in a Play, SEAN HAYES, was joined by GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR Producers and WP Gala Vice-Chairs, MINDY RICH, BARBARA WHITMAN, and BETH WILLIAMS, to give a special interview/roast; and we closed it off with a mind-blowingly spectacular number from SHUCKED, sung by the astonishing and 2023 Tony Award-Winning Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, ALEX NEWELL.

It was an incredible way to celebrate all of WP’s successes this year – with our biggest party of the year, where we raise the needed funds that allow us to continue amplifying marginalized voices, provide space for them to share their experiences and stories, and serve as a unique incubator for emerging talent. Our 2023 honorees are such phenomenal leaders and advocates, and we were thrilled to honor Lauren and Ariana, and have a room full of friends and colleagues to celebrate their extraordinary accomplishments and contributions to the industry. We are so grateful that forty-five years after its inception, WP proudly stands as the nation’s oldest and largest theater company dedicated to developing, producing, and promoting the work of Women+ artists at every stage of their careers.

ABOUT THE HONOREES

Ariana DeBose is an award winning actress known for her varying roles onstage and in film and television. DeBose is best known for her groundbreaking performance in Steven Spielberg’s reimagining of WEST SIDE STORY, for which she received an Academy Award in addition to BAFTA, Critics Choice and SAG Awards for her star turning role as Anita. Her performance has received universal critical acclaim, with Variety calling her a “radiant force of nature” and Forbes writing, “Ariana DeBose shines in an absolutely star-making performance.” In winning her Oscar, she became the first openly queer Afro Latina to win an Academy Award. 

DeBose will next star in Sony Pictures’ KRAVEN THE HUNTER, Disney’s animated feature WISH, and Matthew Vaughn’s action film ARGYLLE for Apple. She will also star in Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s space thriller I.S.S. and executive produce and star in the feature film TWO AND ONLY for Sony’s Screen Gems. She most recently wrapped production on Blumhouse’s HOUSE OF SPOILS for Amazon Studios.

Earlier this year, DeBose hosted the 75 Annual Tony Awards and made her SNL guest host debut to rave reviews. Last year, she had a breakout role in “Schmigadoon!,” the Lorne Michaels’ executive produced Apple TV+ musical comedy series, for which she will also return for its second season. She also received critical acclaim for her performance in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix adaptation of the hit-Broadway musical THE PROM opposite Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Kerry Washington and James Corden. 

Onstage, DeBose is perhaps best known for her role as “Disco Donna” in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, which earned her a 2018 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. For the same role, she was nominated for a Drama League Award for “Distinguished Performance” and won a Chita Rivera Award for “Outstanding Female Dancer in a Broadway Show.

In 2015, DeBose appeared alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda in the groundbreaking, Tony-winning musical Hamilton as a member of the original cast in both the Broadway and off-Broadway productions, as well as the Emmy Award winning film version that was later released on Disney+. After her departure from Hamilton in 2016, DeBose completed a run as Jane in the original Broadway cast of A Bronx Tale.

Her additional theater credits include: Leading Player in the Tony Award-winning revival of Pippin, Mary Wilson of the Supremes in Motown The Musical, Nautica in Andy Blankenbuehler’s Bring It On: The Musical and ensemble in Stephen Sondheim’s Company. Other credits include: The Breaks (VH1), Blue Bloods (CBS), OLTL’s Star Crossed Lovers Series and Season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance (FOX), where she was a top-20 finalist. 

DeBose currently sits on the International Board of Covenant House advocating for homeless youth, many of whom identify as LGBTQ. She is also a board member of A is For, a reproductive rights organization started by Martha Plimpton that works to ensure that all women have access to reproductive and abortion care free of stigma. 

DeBose resides in New York

Lauren Reid is the President of the John Gore Organization (JGO). She is a 25+ year entertainment industry veteran who has built her career out of her lifelong passion for live entertainment. Driven by a commitment to extend the reach of and access to Broadway, Lauren has helped steer the Tony and Emmy Award-winning JGO through its various subsidiaries, to become the leading developer, producer, distributor and marketer of commercial theater. In addition to its dozens of productions currently on Broadway and around the world, JGO presents theater in 48 markets in North America, and reaches more than 35 million fans each year through its variety of digital platforms. JGO’s family of companies, all of which are under Lauren’s operational oversight, include Broadway Across America, Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel, BroadwayBox.com, Broadway Brands and Group Sales Box Office.

Lauren first joined the JGO family in 1992, beginning a 13-year tenure during which she held a range of leadership positions. She left the company in 2006 to help launch, and serve as COO of, BASE Entertainment, where she managed worldwide operations, produced live music acts and Broadway shows, and oversaw the construction and operation of multiple venues in Las Vegas, China and Singapore. In 2010, she returned to JGO and was later named President in 2021.

Lauren began her career as a talent manager and booker in the then-still-burgeoning Austin, Texas music scene, before going on to serve as national publicist for magician David Copperfield.

Lauren currently serves as chair of The Broadway League, the industry’s national trade association and Co-Producer of the Tony Awards. She also serves on the boards of trustees for The Entertainment Community Fund, The Hobby Center in Houston, Broadway Cares / Equity Fight Aids and Texas Performing Arts. She guest lectures at her alma mater, The University of Texas, and splits her time between New York City and Connecticut, but you might find her in New Orleans at JazzFest or catching a live show in one the historic venues around the country that her husband, David, renovated and operated. She first fell in love with theater at age 10 while attending a touring production of Annie in Houston, Texas.

ABOUT THE HOST

Heidi Schreck is a playwright, screenwriter, and actor. Her sold-out Broadway
play, What the Constitution Means to Me, was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, won the New York Critics Circle and OBIE Awards for best play, and received Tony
nominations for Best Play and Best Actress for Schreck’s performance in the lead role. She has been profiled in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Time, and Vogue, and has been featured on “Good Morning America” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”, among others. She has also served as a writer/producer on “Nurse Jackie”, “Billions”, “I Love Dick”, and on the filmed special of Constitution. These shows have earned numerous awards including Emmys, Critics ChoiceAwards, and Golden Globes. In 2019, she received the “American Ingenuity Award” from the Smithsonian Institute and was named one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People.”

Highlights from the 2023 Gala