McCarter Theater’s May 7 gala was marked with style, music, and tribute. The theme, Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball, marked the 50th anniversary of the celebrity novelist’s famous 1966 ball – an event that defined 1960s elegance, and edginess.
Some of the 380 McCarter dinner guests enlivened the mood by sporting masks and donning vintage fashions. Sebastian Clarke of Rago Arts and Auction Center conducted the live auction for the event.
Between a menu stylishly provided by Jimmy Duffy’s Catering and Southern comfort food and cocktails, guests were treated to a performance by world renowned Chinese-born pianist Lang Lang in McCarter’s packed Matthews Theater venue.
The 33-year-old classical music superstar’s appearance was part of a tribute to McCarter’s Bill Lockwood, the esteemed special programming director who has been affiliated with the theater since his Princeton undergraduate days in the 1950s — even before that now legendary Truman Capote event. Proceeds from the night support the Tony Award-winning theater’s artistic and education goals.
