Presentations and Prizes

Dinner at The Metropolitan Museum of Art for the 16th Annual Food Allergy Ball benefiting Food Allergy Research & Education.

On Tuesday evening, November 19th, the Museum of the City of New York presented legendary composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim with its Louis Auchincloss Prize at a gala dinner that featured a musical tribute performed by a cast of Broadway performers. The Louis Auchincloss Prize is awarded by the Museum annually to artists and writers whose work is inspired by and enhances the five boroughs of New York City.

Judy Kaye

Howard McGillin and Victoria Mallory

Howard McGillin and Gregg Edelman

Howard McGillin, Victoria Mallory, Gregg Edelman, Judy Kaye, Harvey Evans, and Sarah Stiles

Stephen Sondheim

Dinner at the New York Academy of Medicine

The Cabaret! gala, sponsored by Withers Bergman, was attended by approximately 200 guests. After a cocktail reception, the prize was presented by James G. Dinan, Chairman of the Museum's Board of Trustees, and Bruno A. Quinson, Vice Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Prize. Remarks were made by Sheldon Harnick, the 2009 recipient of the prize, and Museum trustee Laura Lofaro Freeman.

The reception was followed by a seated dinner and the musical tribute to Sondheim featuring Gregg Edelman, Harvey Evans, Judy Kaye, Howard McGillin, Victoria Mallory, and Sarah Stiles under the direction of theater producer and director Michael Montel and music director Larry Yurman.

Blake Auchincloss, Stephen Sondheim, and Andrew Auchincloss

Charles Rosenblum Elaine Tross, and Susan Madden

Daryl Brown Uber, Geoffrey Johnson, and Sylvia Hemingway

Friederike Biggs and Jeannie Pearman

Friederike Biggs, Gesa Vogt, and Regina Rich

George Rich and Jeanne Jones

Jack Rowe, Jim Buckman, Nancy Buckman, and Valerie Rowe

James de Givenchy, Tracey Pontarelli, Emily Garbaccio, and Gina de Givenchy

James Dinan, Sheldon Harnick, Stephen Sondheim, Laura Lofaro Freeman, and Bruno Quinson

Jeremy Biggs, Susan Henshaw Jones, and Jim Freeman

Ken Pontarelli, Stephen Sondheim, and Tracey Pontarelli

Kym McClain and David Guin

Laura Lofaro Freeman, Newt Merrill, Polly Merrill, and Jim Freeman

Laura Lofaro Freeman, Stephen Sondheim, Jeff Romley, and James Dinan

Scott Bok, Kate Niehaus, and Bob Niehaus

Sky Field, Richard Field, and Mary Davidson

Todd DeGarmo and Donald Albrecht

Ginger and Michael Montel

Bob Hardwick and Polly Merrill

The 16th Annual Food Allergy Ball, benefiting Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), took place on Tuesday, November 12, 2013 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Ball, which attracted more than 500 supporters, is a signature event for FARE, the leading national organization working on behalf of the 15 million Americans who have a food allergy, including 1 in every 13 children. FARE’s mission is to ensure the safety and inclusion of individuals with food allergies while relentlessly seeking a cure.

This year’s event honored Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports, for his dedication to FARE’s mission. Nick Valenti, CEO, Patina Restaurant Group, received the Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to an outstanding restaurateur for his commitment to excellence and compassion for diners with food allergies. Rebecca and Sacha Lainovic received the Legacy Award for their long-standing dedication to FARE and the food allergy community. John L. Lehr, CEO of FARE, spoke at the event.

Susan Graham and Adam Diegel

Julia Koch, Sharyn T. Mann and Todd J. Slotkin were the Gala Dinner Chairs. David H. Koch was the Corporate Dinner Chair. Liana Silverstein Backal and Arthur Backal, Abbey and Steven Braverman, Patricia and James Cayne, Nina Rennert Davidson and Mitchell Davidson, Roxanne and Dean Palin, and Stephanie Winston Wolkoff and David Wolkoff were the Benefit Dinner Chairs.

Guests enjoyed a peanut-, tree nut- and shellfish-free dinner inspired by Patina Restaurant Group chefs, as well as a special performance by opera stars Susan Graham and Adam Diegel. The festivities for this black-tie Gala began at 6:30 PM.

Nick Valenti, Linda Valenti, Todd Slotkin, Judy Slotkin, Sharyn Mann, Drew Nieporent, and Alain Sailhac

Nick Valenti, Sharyn Mann, Todd Slotkin, Rebecca Lainovic, Sacha Lainovic, Tracy McManus, and Sean McManus

Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) works on behalf of the 15 million Americans with food allergies, including all those at risk for life-threatening anaphylaxis. This potentially deadly disease affects 1 in every 13 children in the U.S. – or roughly two in every classroom. Formed in 2012 as a result of a merger between the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network and the Food Allergy Initiative, FARE’s mission is to ensure the safety and inclusion of individuals with food allergies while relentlessly seeking a cure. We do this by providing evidence-based education and resources, undertaking advocacy at all levels of government, increasing awareness of food allergy as a serious public health issue, and funding world-class research that advances treatment and understanding of food allergies.

Pat Cayne and Sharyn Mann

Julia and David Koch

Steven Braverman, Abbey Braverman, Roxanne Palin, and Dean Palin

Nick and Linda Valenti

Sirio and Marco Maccioni

Ming Tsai and Lori Stokes

Tracy McManus, Jackson McManus, Maggie McManus, and Sean McManus

Sean McManus, Mary Jane Marchisotto, and John Lehr

Todd Slotkin, Nina Rennert Davidson, and Sharyn Mann

Arthur Backal and Liana Silverstein Backal

Salman Rushdie and Missy Brody

Donald and Barbara Tober

Erica Reid and Stephanie Winston Wolkoff

Stephanie Winston Wolkoff and David Wolkoff

Todd Slotkin, Judy Slotkin, Sharyn Mann, and Stephen Mann

Todd Slotkin, Judy Slotkin, and Thomas Slotkin

Sacha and Rebecca Lainovic

Dr. John Connolly and Ingrid Connolly

Nick Valenti, John Lehr, and Sean McManus

Nicole and Marc Lenner

Jane Preiser, Leslie Cornfeld, and Joan Hornig

Helen and David Jaffe

Sandy DeMille, Nelson DeMille, and Todd Slotkin

A much-anticipated highlight of the fall season, the Museum Gala is the American Museum of Natural History's largest annual benefit. Nearly 800 guests attended this year's dazzling ball, hosted by Tina Fey. Following cocktails in the Roosevelt Rotunda, guests enjoyed dinner and a performance by Florence + the Machine in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life. Museum President Ellen V. Futter presented Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg with the Theodore Roosevelt Award in recognition of visionary and innovative leadership.

Cocktails in the Roosevelt Rotunda

Dinner in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life

The event featured an auction of exceptional prizes overseen by Lydia Fenet of Christie's and Seth Meyers. This year's winnings included an array of priceless item, such as:

A walk-on role for four people in the upcoming Night at the Museum 3;
Breakfast at the Museum and front-row seats to New York's one and only Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade;
Tickets to legendary Studio 8H for a live recording of "Saturday Night Live," followed by dinner with the cast and crew at the afterparty;
Stargazing and dinner with world-renowned astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium.

Jodie and John Eastman, Tina Fey and Jeff Richmond, and Alice and Lorne Michaels served as Gala Chairs.

Host and co-chair Tina Fey

Auctioneers Seth Meyers and Lydia Fenet

Museum President Ellen V. Futter, Chairmen of the Museum's Board of Trustees Lewis Bernard, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Florence + the Machine

Guests who joined Museum President Ellen V. Futter and the Gala Chairs were Seth Meyers Erik Kenward, Eric Justian, Marika Sawyer, Bobby Moynihan, Bryan Tucker, Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant, Taran Killam, Vanessa Bayer, Nasim Pedrad, Jay Pharoah, Will Forte, Jemima Kirke, Baz Luhrmann, Kyle MacLachlan, Bennett Miller, Rick Ocasek and Paulina Porizkova, Meg Ryan, Kathy Najimy, Martha Stewart, Roger Waters, Derek Blasberg, Joanna Coles, Alexander Gilkes, Karlie Kloss, Kyle MacLachlan, Ric Ocasek, Paul Roossin, Lara Spencer, Richie Sambora, Noel Wells, John Milhiser, Ed Norton, Josh Hutcherson, Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney, and Mike O'Brien, Shawn Levy, John McEnroe, Hon. Michael R. Bloomberg, Hon. Kate D. Levin, Hon. Veronica White, Hon, Domenic M. Recchia, Hon. Helen Rosenthal, Roger Altman and Jurate Kazickas, Lewis and Jill Bernard, Roxanne and Scott Bok, David and Julia Koch, Nancy and Hart Fessenden, Sibyl Golden, Kitty and Thomas Kempner, Roberto and Allison Mignone, Ralph Schlosstein and Jane Hartley, Susan and Kenneth Wallach, Christopher Davis, Karen LeFrak, Marlene Hess and James Zirin, Anne and Charles Mott, Judy and Archibald Cox, Jr., Vivian Donnelley, Karen and Charles Phillips, Connie and Stephen Spahn, Jill and Alan Rappaport, Lynette and Richard Jaffe, Carson and Joseph Gleberman, and Laura Sillerman.

The Museum Gala raised over $3.3 million for the Museum, bolstered by a generous matching gift for the School Visit program auction item from Karen and Richard LeFrak. Proceeds from the evening help support the Museum's educational and scientific programming.