Nilo Cruz and Debbi Benedict. Photography by Rod Millington.
See gallery from Greenfield Prize Dinner.
The Michael's On East ballroom was a sea of corals, blues and whites - reminiscent of a Hermitage sunset - at the annual Greenfield Prize Dinner.
The Hermitage, an artists' retreat set on a 100-year-old Gulf-front campus on Manasota Key, annually presents the $30,000 commission and prize for music, drama or the visual arts in conjunction with the Greenfield Foundation. This year's recipient is Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz, who was on hand to accept his award.
The event, chaired by Debbi Benedict, attracted the leaders of Sarasota's cultural and arts community. including Flora Major, Renee Hamad, Beverly Bartner, Patricia Caswell, Alice Rau, Julie Riddell, Steve and Dale Adler, Bruce Rodgers and Lisa Rubinstein, Charlie Huisking, Ellen Berman, Eva Slane, Warren and Margot Coville, Howard Millman, Susan McLeod, Sally Faron and Fred Derr, Audrey Coleman, Roxie and Mike Jerde, Ken and Peggy Abt, Sarah and George Pappas, Alexandra Jupin and Steven High, among others.
Debbi welcomed guests and then introduced Ilene Denton, president of the Heritage Board of Trustees, followed by Joni Greenfield, representing the Greenfield family, many of whom attended the dinner.
Joni paid tribute to the previous week's world premiere of "Bruits," by Vijay Iyer, the 2012 Greenfield Prize recipient, calling it "unbelievably wonderful." It was premiered at the Sarasota Opera House, and was performed by pianist Cory Smythe and Imani Winds.
Hermitage Executive Director Bruce Rodgers then took to the stage and announced a new award between the Hermitage and the Florida Humanities Council - a residency for the winner of the Florida Lifetime Achievement in Literature award.
Speaking about the Greenfield Prize, he explained that it is about much more than the $30,000 commission for a new work. "The Asolo will work with this year's winner, Nilo Cruz, to gain exposure for the work (which will premiere in 2016) and we will continue to support the work beyond its premiere here in Sarasota," he said.
Following a fabulous dinner, Rodgers introduced Keynote speaker Olympia Dukakis, calling her "a woman of the theater." Dukakis has appeared in more than 60 feature and short films, including winning the Academy Award and Golden Globe for her role in "Moonstruck." She has performed on Broadway and in more than 130 off-Broadway productions.
"Writers draw us into a world where we all connect," she said. "In their words we are revealed, maybe even changed. These stories keep us alive," she added, noting that at the Hermitage, writers are given the time to develop these stories and ideas. Her great fear, she said is that today the emphasis is on a well-made play, not original works. "Plays become formulas rather than works that represent the writer's soul. Those that write the stories must be supported," she concluded.
In introducing this year's Greenfield Prize winner, the Asolo's producing artistic director Michael Donald Edwards called Cruz "one of the most revered and beloved playwrights in the United States." He explained that he first met Cruz through Mikhail Barysnikov and the Ringling International Arts Festival, adding they have become "close friends and colleagues."
In accepting the award, the eloquent Cruz said that it was more than an honor.
"You are putting your trust in the works that lie ahead," he said, adding that he still considers himself a student of the theater. "I still agonize over sentences and words ... And I probably will until the day I die," he said.
