
The Huntington invites you to join us as we applaud our Honorees and the achievements of this transformational year. Your support of the Gala ensures the success of our artistic, education, and community initiatives.
MONDAY, MAY 1, 2023
6:30 Reception
7:45 Dinner, performance, and live auction
The CYCLORAMA of Boston Center for the Arts
Event entrance through the Calderwood Pavilion at 527 Tremont Street.
Unable to attend? Click the link below to make a donation to commemorate this year’s honorees:
WIMBERLY AWARD HONOREES:
Dave Leathers | Huntington Trustee
Paula Vogel | Pulitzer Prize-winning Playwright
ENCORE AWARD HONOREE:
Michael Maso | Huntington Managing Director
HOST:
Karen Holmes Ward | Host of WCVB Channel 5’s CityLine, Huntington Trustee
CHAIRS:
David & Karen Firestone and Bobby Perino
2023 Committee:
Neal Balkowitsch & Donald Nelson
John Barros
Lisa Cleary
Lisa Coady
Sherryl & Gerard Cohen
Dennis Condon
Carol G. Deane
Janet Dracksdorf
Mike Firestone
Debbie First
Anne Fitzpatrick
Betsy Gwin
Ann T. Hall
Tina Harford
Imari Paris Jeffries
Susan Leathers
Sharon Malt
Evelyn Margot-Peterman
Linda & Bill McQuillan
Ann Merrifield
Anne M. Morgan
Mirabella Pisani
Barbara Senchak
Linda H. Thomas
Matthew Thompson
Karen Holmes Ward
Linda Zug
*as of March 6, 2023

DAVE LEATHERS, Huntington Trustee, Facilities Committee Chair
Dave Leathers has served as a Huntington Trustee since 2013 and is the current chair of the Facilities Committee. Dave has been a driving force for the revitalization of The Huntington Theatre and is the former CEO of John Moriarty & Associates, a highly respected construction firm with clients such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Brandeis University. He and his wife Susan are long-time Huntington enthusiasts and live in Boston.

PAULA VOGEL, Pulitzer Prize-winning Playwright
Paula Vogel is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright whose plays Indecent (Tony Award nomination for Best Play) and A Civil War Christmas have been celebrated on The Huntington’s stages. Her other plays include How I Learned to Drive (Pulitzer Prize, Lortel Prize), The Long Christmas Ride Home, The Mineola Twins, The Baltimore Waltz, Hot ‘N’ Throbbing, Desdemona, And Baby Makes Seven, and The Oldest Profession. Lifetime achievement awards include the American Theatre Hall of Fame Award, the Obie Award, and New York Drama Critics Circle Award. Her plays are published in six volumes by TCG Press and she teaches playwriting workshops throughout the United States and abroad. In 2020 she founded the digital theatre archive of new plays, BARD AT THE GATE, which is available at Broadway on Demand. paulavogelplaywright.com.

MICHAEL MASO, Huntington Managing Director
Michael Maso has led The Huntington as Managing Director since 1982 and is in his final (41st) season with the theatre. He has produced more than 260 productions in partnership with four artistic directors and is one of the most well-regarded executives in the theatre industry. Under his tenure, The Huntington has received over 150 Elliot Norton and Independent Reviewers of New England Awards, as well as the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. He received the 2016 Massachusetts Nonprofit Network’s Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as TCG’s 2012 Theatre Practitioner Award. Maso led The Huntington’s ten-year drive to build the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, which opened in September 2004, and has been a catalyst for the redevelopment and transformational renovation of The Huntington Theatre. He served as President of the League of Resident Theatres for 8 years, is on the Boston Cultural Planning Steering Committee, and has served as a member of the board for ArtsBoston, Theatre Communications Group (TCG), and StageSource, and as a site visitor, panelist, and panel chairman for the National Endowment for the Arts.

KAREN HOLMES WARD, Huntington Trustee, host of WCVB Channel 5’s CityLine
Karen Holmes Ward is the Director of Public Affairs and Community Services as well as host and executive producer of CityLine, WCVB-TV’s weekly magazine program which addresses the concerns and accomplishments of people of color living in Boston and its suburbs. Karen joined The Huntington’s Board of Trustees in 2021 and is the spokesperson for the Seats Campaign as part of The Campaign for the New Huntington. She co-hosted The Huntington’s “Spotlight on Trailblazers” Gala in 2020.
SPOTLIGHT GALA SPONSORS
Spotlight
Berkshire Partners
Gerard & Sherryl Cohen
Carol G. Deane
David & Karen Firestone
Barbara & Amos Hostetter
David & Susan Leathers
Marquee
Betsy & David Epstein
John & Annie Hall
John Moriarty & Associates, Inc
Liberty Mutual
MAX Ultimate Food – Neal Balkowitsch & Donald Nelson and Bobby Perino
Bill & Linda McQuillan
Ann Merrifield & Wayne Davis
Panera Bread – Mitch & Jill Roberts and David Peterman
Doug & Laurie Sanders
Veronica & Howard Wiseman
Center Stage
Adrienne Allen & Matt Goldstein
Bruner/Cott Architects & Leggat McCall
Marianne & Philip Haydon
Sharon & Brad Malt
Sandra O. Moose
Linda H. Thomas
Mr. J. David Wimberly
Linda & Brooks Zug
Anonymous
Director Quartet
Amy & David Abrams
The Druker Company, Ltd
Frias Family Foundation
John A. Penney Company, Inc
J&M Brown Company
Karas & Karas Glass Company
Locke Lord
Anne M. Morgan
Marilyn & Jay Sarles
Barbara & Andy Senchak
John D. Spooner
Playwright Pair
Nancy Adams & John Burgess
Kathleen & Charles Ames
Patricia Bellinger Balzer
David Carter, Beacon Waterproofing
Suzanne M. Chapman
Dennis Condon & Robert Cummings
Denise & William Finard
Maria & Daniel Gerrity
Simon Harford & Tina Courtney-Harford
Arthur C. & Eloise Hodges
The HYM Investment Group, LLC
Debbie Johnston & Ed Szkutak
Mary Marshall & John Puleo
Jay Olmsted & Lisa Cleary
Cokie & Lee Perry
Samuel Plimpton & Wendy Shattuck
Gail Roberts, Ed Feijo & Team
Martin & Betsy Solomon
Kate & Ben Taylor
Linda & Dan Waintrup
Hunt Quartet
Bobby Perino & Matthew Thompson
Mirabella Pisani
Michelle & Aaron Rhodes
TABLES AND TICKETS
PREMIER – $100,000
Estimated value of goods and services is $2,660
- Two premier tables of ten
- Valet parking for ten vehicles
- Special recognition in the evening’s remarks and recognition on select event signage and website
- Two-page congratulatory message in the Tribute Book
SPOTLIGHT – $50,000
Estimated value of goods and services is $2,660
- Two high priority tables of ten
- Valet parking for ten vehicles
- Recognition on select event signage and website
- Full-page congratulatory message in the Tribute Book
MARQUEE – $25,000
Estimated value of goods and services is $1,330
- One high priority table of ten
- Valet parking for five vehicles
- Recognition on event website
- Full-page congratulatory message in the Tribute Book
CENTER STAGE – $15,000
Estimated value of goods and services is $1,330
- One priority table of ten
- Valet parking for five vehicles
- Half-page congratulatory message in the Tribute Book
DIRECTOR QUARTET – $10,000
Estimated value of goods and services is $532
- High priority seating for four
- Valet parking for two vehicles
- Half-page congratulatory message in the Tribute Book
PLAYWRIGHT PAIR – $5,000
Estimated value of goods and services is $276
- Priority seating for two
- Valet parking for one vehicle
- Half-page congratulatory message in the Tribute Book
HUNT QUARTET – $1,200 – SOLD OUT
(For young professionals age 40 and under.) Estimated value of goods and services is $532
- High priority seating for four
- Valet parking for two vehicles
- Half-page congratulatory message in the Tribute Book
- One year membership to The Hunt, The Huntington’s young donor group
PATRON TICKET – $1,000 – SOLD OUT
Estimated value of goods and services is $128
- Seating for one
HUNT TICKET – $250 – SOLD OUT
Estimated value of goods and services is $128
- Seating for one
- One year membership to The Hunt, The Huntington’s young donor group
In accordance with Internal Revenue Service guidance, a distribution from a donor advised fund may not be used to pay for any portion of an in-person event ticket or sponsorship. As with any philanthropic decision, we encourage you to consult with your own tax/financial advisor.
The Huntington Theatre Company is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions are deductible to the extent provided by law. For attendees, the amount deductible for federal income tax purposes is limited to the excess over the value of goods or services provided.
TRIBUTE BOOK ADS
4.5″ x 7.5″ vertical: $1,000
4.5″ x 3.6″ vertical: $750
2.25″ x 3.6″ vertical: $500
For more information, contact Jessica Morrison at 617-273-1651 or spotlight@huntingtontheatre.org.