Laura Osnes and Tony Yazbeck in Surprise Performance at the Guild Hall Gala

If you are going to honor Susan Stroman for her achievement in performing arts, as Guild Hall did this week at their annual gala at the Rainbow Room, you may expect, aside from the usual clip reel, some real live Broadway stars. Laura Osnes, a sublime Cinderella, now preparing for the opening of Bandstand, sang the Gershwin classic “But Not For Me.” And Tony Yazbeck, dazzling in On the Town, to star in Stroman’s next musical, Prince on Broadway, sang Gershwin's “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.” Among many highlights on this special night, was Tanya Gabrielian’s rendition of Chopin's Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, Op. Posth. on piano, and poetry from Alice Quinn, Executive Director of the Poetry Society and Philip Schultz, another of this year’s honorees. “Poetry asks us to celebrate our differences,” said the Pulitzer Prize winning poet, and he read a new poem about a same-sex couple called “The Kiss.”

Viet Nam War Veteran memorial designer Maya Lin presented to Edwina von Gal, a landscape artist committed to East End ecology. Edwina von Gal was pleased that Guild Hall recognized landscapes as visual art. The “Miniki” as Roy Furman affectionately called Mike and Cheryl Minikes, lovers of culture and Guild Hall, as they received the award for leadership and philanthropic endeavors. Cheryl told a charming story of how the couple, borrowing his father’s Chevy in 1952, arrived in East Hampton, stayed at the Hunting Inn, and did not tell their parents. They saw a production of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Guild Hall and fell in love.

Alec and Hilaria Baldwin, Dr. Ruth Westheimerand president of the Academy of the Arts and the evening’s host, Eric Fishl, enjoyed a menu created by Florence Fabrikant: roasted Jerusalem artichoke soup, guinea hen with butternut squash, wild mushroom, and pearl barley ragout, and pear tart tatin to finish. Looking out at the Rainbow Room’s spectacular panoramic views of the city with a blizzard on the way, one guest noted the special vibe of excitement. What a great night!

Regina Weinreich

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