Cause & Celebration: Walnut Street Theatre Gala

The Walnut Street Theatre celebrated its 206th anniversary at the Some Enchanted Evening Gala Concert on May 1. From the beginning, the gala was an evening of star treatment for the more than 800 guests in attendance. Preconcert attendees were offered wine to enjoy during the performance, which included a 90-minute concert with performers singing selections from The King and I, South Pacific, The Sound of Music and other Rodgers and Hammerstein hits. The evening also featured a slide show from schoolchildren thanking the Walnut Street Theatre and patrons for their support of the Education and Outreach program, which helps 150,000 young people across the Delaware Valley. The $100,000 in proceeds from the evening will be used to support the program. The 2015 Edwin Forrest Award, named after the leading actor who made his debut at the Walnut in 1820, was presented to actress and trustee Ellen Tobie and to Larry Gilberti, director of the Syde Hurdus Foundation. Bernard Havard, president and producing artistic director for the Walnut Street Theatre, made the presentation. After the concert, the celebration kept going with a VIP party, open bar, delicious food, and silent auction at Jefferson Alumni Hall Atrium on the Thomas Jefferson University Campus.