(RED BANK, NJ) -- As part of its 31st Gala on Saturday, May 3, 2025, Two River Theater is thrilled to honor local Community Partner T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center with its inaugural Spotlight Award.
The T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center is dedicated to preserving the home and legacy of T. Thomas Fortune, a civil rights advocate and leading African American journalist of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into slavery, Thomas Fortune was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. He found professional success as editor and owner of The New York Globe newspaper, later named The New York Age. During his over 20-year tenure at the paper, Fortune grew it into the nation’s most influential Black paper used to protest discrimination, mob violence and disenfranchisement. He also founded the National Afro American League.
Fortune’s home was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1976 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It remains one of only two such sites in the state affiliated with African American history.
“I am honored, grateful and humbled by this award, which spotlights my love for this community, the arts and culture. The T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center has been a huge accomplishment and I am very proud of our Board who have supported my vision from the start. What we were able to do together was pretty unbelievable, yet I am not surprised, because this is what happens when egos are cast aside and we work for the greater good of all. Thank you Two River Theater,” says Gilda Rogers, Executive Director of the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center.
“This inaugural Community Spotlight Award acknowledges the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center's invaluable contributions to preserving and celebrating the legacy of T. Thomas Fortune, as well as the Center's commitment to fostering dialogue and understanding around issues of social justice, echoing Fortune's own advocacy,” says Two River Theater Gala’s Co-Chair Cathy Pugliese-Sivo, on behalf of the Gala Committee Co-Chairs. “The creative and community partnership between the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center, led by Gilda Rogers, and Two River Theater demonstrates our mutual desire to ensure the preservation and celebration of our shared cultural heritage.”
Join Two River Theater on Saturday, May 3, for an immersive theatrical experience as we celebrate our 31st anniversary season. Explore the theater with an evening of delights, , from cocktails on the Rechnitz stage to performers soaring overhead to a vaudevillian show that comes alive around you. Enjoy dinner with old friends and mingle with fellow theater enthusiasts. All proceeds of this event benefit the programs and services of Two River Theater.
TICKET AND SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION - Gala sponsor packages range from $1,200 to $25,000. A limited number of dinner tickets are available for $450 a ticket and include one ticket to the Gala performance and dinner with complimentary valet. Tickets are available for purchase online.
For more information on tickets,sponsorship packages and underwriting opportunities, please contact Catherine Hill at [email protected] or 732.345.1400 x 1820.
Gala Co-Chairs: Joanna & Brian Leddin, Cathy Pugliese-Sivo & Thomas Sivo
Event Committee: Dr. Ann Bagchi, Betsy & Robert Barrett, Marilyn & Robert Broege, Christopher Curcia, Stephanie Giordano, Eileen & Timothy Hogan, Barbara Levy-Hollander & Joseph Hollander, Nora & Kenny King, Robin Klein, Molly Kroon Jackubecy, Paula & Larry Metz, Magda & James Muka, Bridget Murphy, JP Nicolaides & the Honorable Ed Zipprich, Lauren Nicosia, Sean O’Connell, Michael Parent, Maria Ramirez-Jurgens & Jason Jurgens, Joan Rechnitz,Joanne Spears
Honorary Committee: New Jersey State Senator Vin Gopal, New Jersey State Senator Declan O’Scanlon, Monmouth County Commissioners: Thomas A. Arnone, Director, Susan M. Kiley, Deputy Director, Dominick “Nick” DiRocco, Ross F. Licitra, Erik Anderson, Red Bank Mayor William Portman.
Two River Theater’s 2024/25 Season Sponsor is Hackensack Meridian Riverview Medical Center.
Two River Theater is funded in part by public support through the National Endowment for the Arts, the State of New Jersey, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, funding through a grant from the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel & Tourism, and the Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners. Private support includes Achelis & Bodman Foundation, Citizens Philanthropic Foundation, Courtyard by Marriott, Edgerton Foundation, Grunin Foundation, Merrill G. & Emita E. Hastings Foundation, Investors Foundation, Jersey Coast Family Law, Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey, John Ben Snow Foundation and Memorial Trust, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, Manasquan Bank Charitable Foundation, Molly Pitcher Inn and The Oyster Point Hotel, Monmouth University, OceanFirst Bank, OceanFirst Foundation, Open Heart Yoga, Senior Living Residences Marlboro, Springpoint Senior Living Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Triumph Brewing Company, The Stone Foundation of New Jersey, Visiting Nurse Association of NJ Health Group, Zager Fuchs P.C., and other generous funders.
Two River Theater produces American and world classics, new plays and musicals, programs for young people, and festivals of new work. Each year, we serve over 20,000 students, families and community members through our 4-6 show season, and 85+ events that reflect our diverse community of Monmouth County. Two River produces work on two stages—the 350-seat Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater, and the flexible 110-seat Marion Huber Theater. In 2020 they expanded their campus to 80,000 square feet with the opening of the Center for New Work, Education and Design.
Two River Theater has commissioned and premiered original projects including Be More Chill by Tony Award nominee Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz (the theater’s first Broadway production) and Hurricane Diane by former Playwright-in-Residence Madeleine George (which won an Obie Award for its Off-Broadway run), and in June 2019, Two River was nationally recognized by USA TODAY as one of “10 great places to see a play.” Two River Theater is led by Artistic Director Justin Waldman and Managing Director Nora DeVeau-Rosen.
