Tina Fey and Kelli O'Hara honored at Trinity Rep's Pell Awards for lifetime achievement in the arts
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Several of the speakers and other guests at the event, which raised nearly $400,000 for Trinity Rep's artistic, education, and community engagement programming, shared how programs funded by the
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'I am concerned that the arts will be an afterthought as opposed to being one of the most important things we can do,' said actor and Rhode Island resident
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Longtime Trinity Rep supporter Bank of America recently made a $3 million commitment to the theater company, which was announced during the gala. The gift includes $2.75 million to support the
Curt Columbus, Trinity Rep's artistic director, said, 'When you live in a country that is undergoing the kind of repression that we're seeing, the arts are more necessary than they have ever been.'
Providence lawyer Arlene Violet, who once served as the state's attorney general, said she wanted to attend Tuesday night's gala to show her support for the arts in general, and more specifically, Trinity Rep.
'Places like Trinity Rep will continue to educate the heart, souls, and consciences of theatergoers,' she said. 'And without question, the arts are under attack. I think the president is trying to
While accepting her award, Fey told those in attendance that she started her career directing children's theater in her hometown in Pennsylvania. 'We really served our community,' she said.
Fey was critical of Trump, making jokes about him and his administration and pretending she was receiving repeated news alerts on her phone:
'The White House has declared Juneteenth canceled – we're just going back to Shark Week.'
'RFK Jr. says hurricanes likely caused by vaccines; we will have a hurricane cure by the weekend.'
'They just keep coming. Breaking news: All new music must emphasize beats one and three. Any syncopated rhythm will be considered DEI.'
'Also, the Russians have a Trump/Musk tape.'
'OK, the Trump/Musk tape has been debunked.'
Fey ended her 'news flash' jokes with a clear crowd favorite: 'Trump just ate a Tide pod. It's going to be OK. His doctor said he ate it better than anyone had ever eaten a Tide pod, and the chemicals in it may cause him to live forever,' a joke that elicited prolonged laughter from the audience.
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Fey, 55, who wore a pale pink pantsuit and white crew-neck shirt, was introduced by Kate Liberman, Trinity Rep's executive director, who shared a video message sent by Fey's friend, collaborator, and fellow 'Saturday Night Live' alum Amy Poehler, who joked that everyone at the event should look under their seats because one has the keys to a new car, courtesy of Fey.
The 'Mean Girls' creator said she has worked in 'difficult eras' before, including performing on 'Saturday Night Live' just three weeks after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
'There was a time that we thought 'oh, maybe we can never do comedy again. Maybe it's not appropriate for us to ever laugh again' and it turned out that really, all it took was Will Ferrell in an American flag Speedo to be able to unite the country,' she joked.
'People love to ask me, 'Is it OK to be writing comedy right now?' And I say not only can we, we must,' Fey said. 'Humor is a vehicle for delivering truth. Humor is what will keep us tethered to our sanity through these dark times.'
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Two-time Tony winner Judith Ivey, a longtime friend and mentor of O'Hara's, introduced her by singing a clever and amusing reworked version of 'Maria' from 'The Sound of Music,' that was all about O'Hara.
Wearing a floor-length, spaghetti-strap forest green-hued floral dress, O'Hara said she was honored to receive the award, and promised those in attendance that she will do everything in her power 'to continue to make the world better through the arts' – even if it's just making someone's life 'a little better each time I sing a song or say something that I mean from my heart.'
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'I'll receive this tonight with such gratitude and such humility because I am determined to be worthy of it for the rest of my life,' said O'Hara, 49, who is touring the country with fellow Tony Award-winning actor Sutton Foster in full symphony concerts, including a
O'Hara, who won a Tony Award in 2015 for best actress in a musical for her performance in a revival of 'The King and I,' shared with the audience that while growing up in a small town in Western Oklahoma, she and her family benefited from
Trinity Rep established the Pell Awards in 1997 to honor artists whose careers exemplify the values of the late US Senator Claiborne Pell, a staunch champion of the arts and one of the principal founders of the National Endowment for the Arts.
O'Hara and Fey join a long list of distinguished performers who have received the award, including last year's recipient,
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