The upcoming annual Rock the Dock Summer Benefit Bash for Bay Street Theatre will be hosted by former “All My Children” star Susan Lucci on Saturday, July 20. Lucci will be joined by celebrity auctioneer, Richard Kind, a Broadway actor and Bay Street board member. The event will be held in the memory of Welsh actress Sybil Christopher, the Theatre’s founder and former Artistic Director who passed away earlier this year.
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“I am thrilled to be hosting this year’s event,” says Lucci. “I have been coming to Bay Street for many years and am so looking forward to this upcoming season!” (Courtesy photo) |
Bay Street Theatre was founded in 1991 and is a Hamptons non-profit, professional regional live theatre located on the Long Wharf in Sag Harbor. Many of the productions originally premiered or developed at Bay Street have gone on to become major Broadway or Off-Broadway shows, leading CBS Sunday Morning to place it among the “country’s pre-eminent regional theatres,” and Newsday to consider it to be “in the same league with the best major regional and Off-Broadway theatres.” The Rock the Dock gala is Bay Street’s most important fundraising event of the year, resources collected will go on to support yearlong programming. This programming includes not just Summer Mainstage performances, but also educational initiatives like Literature Live and a summer internship program for college students, as well as comedy clubs and workshops.
Lucci says she is “thrilled to be hosting this year’s event” which kicks off with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 6:30 p.m. overlooking the waterfront at the Sag Harbor Long Wharf. The event will continue with dinner, dancing, and a live auction featuring some extravagant packages. Items up for auction this year include a 3-day 2-night stay at the Four Seasons Costa Rica, a vacation getaway to the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, tickets to some of the most popular Broadway shows with exclusive backstage tours, VIP tickets with a backstage meet & greet to “Live with Kelly and Michael”, several rounds of golf at The Bridge Golf Course in Bridgehampton, Yankees tickets and much, much more. An after party at B. Smith’s will begin immediately following the event.
Executive Director for the Bay Street Theatre, Tracy Mitchell, detailed the need for such a lavish event. “As a non-profit doing business on Main Street in Sag Harbor, we have no access to artists housing or workforce housing and we therefore must pay rents not only for the theatre, but also for a warehouse, and 10 to 12 houses each summer for NYC actors and designers,” she explained. “In order not to raise ticket prices and to be able to host local organizations throughout the year such as the elementary school variety show, local filmmakers, and even Santa, we must raise over a million dollars a year in donations. Rock the Dock is a great way for people to have a fun night out, while contributing to this Sag Harbor institution.”
Previous Rock the Dock benefits have brought in big names including Julie Andrews, Kim Cattrall, Lauren Bacall, Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda, Joy Behar, Terrence McNally, Mel Brooks, Blythe Danner, Kelsey Grammer, Liev Schreiber, Chevy Chase, Anne Jackson, Billy Joel, Richard Kind, Nathan Lane, Star Jones, Robert Zimmerman, Rosie O’Donnell, Mercedes Ruehl, B. Smith, Eli Wallach, and Naomi Watts.
Single tickets, as well as VIP tables for 10, are available online at www.baystreet.org or by calling Jessica Lemire at 631-725-0818 ext. 129. Bay Street Theatre is located at 1 Bay Street in Sag Harbor.
