Pittsburgh Cultural Trust gala comes at critical point for Cultural District

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust will celebrate the Band of Dreamers who envisioned the downtown Cultural District more than 35 years ago during the Building on the Dream Gala, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 7 in the Benedum Center.

Featured entertainer will be Renee Elise Goldsberry, a Tony Award-winner for her role in “Hamilton” and a Carnegie Mellon University graduate.

“(The gala) will be a moment in time to reflect on the work that the Cultural Trust has been doing for nearly four decades, as we think about where we are coming out of covid and the need for revitalization, particularly of our downtown,” said Trust President and CEO Kevin McMahon.

Just as it was when the Trust was founded, Pittsburgh is at another critical inflection point, he said.

“It was in the midst of the steel mill closings and urban flight,” McMahon said. “Downtown was looking pretty sad. This band of dreamers — private citizens, foundation leaders, corporate leaders — said, ‘We’re not going down for the count. We’re going to help bring people back to downtown to live, work and play, and we’re going to do it through arts and entertainment.”

The dream was to recreate downtown Pittsburgh as a center for the arts, as it had been in earlier days.

“The Cultural District was once the city’s and region’s theatrical district, way back in the 1800s and throughout much of the 20th century,” McMahon said. “It only began to deteriorate and turn into the notorious red light district in the ‘70s and into the ‘80s and ‘90s.

“It was a moment in time for the so-called Band of Dreamers – Jack Heinz, the Heinz Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the Benedum Foundation, Carol Brown, the first president of the Trust, and many civic leaders — to come together and create this wonderful Cultural District that we have now.”

Though visitors are returning to the district post-pandemic, McMahon said, “We know we’re still struggling a little bit right now as a community.”

In a normal year, Cultural Trust offerings will bring about 2 million people to downtown. Although attendance has rebounded for the Broadway blockbuster shows, McMahon said overall attendance is at about 80% of what the Trust would like to see.

“A few years back when Dan Onorato was the county executive, preceding Rich Fitzgerald, Dan was quoted as saying the Cultural Trust was the single-most important organization revitalizing downtown Pittsburgh, so we want to play that role again,” McMahon said. “I know there might be a few skeptics out there who think that the new normal may not be the normal that we’re used to, but we have a wonderful asset here and we want to come together once again and invest in it and believe in it.”

The gala will open with cocktail hour, and dinner will be served at 7 p.m. Goldsberry will take the stage at 9 p.m., with nightcaps following her performance.

A 1993 Carnegie Mellon theater graduate, she originated the role of Angelica Schuyler in the Broadway musical “Hamilton,” for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Her other Broadway credits include the original Broadway cast of “The Color Purple” and “Rent.”

“We’re always excited to have a home-team person as one of our entertainers,” McMahon said.

Due to covid concerns, last year’s gala was held in the Theater Square parking garage.

“I’m the first to admit it that not only was it different, it was a little rough around the edges – after all, it was a garage; but I think people had a lot of fun,” McMahon said. “At the same time, a few people said, you know, it would be great to be back in the Benedum or one of the theaters next year.

“This year we’re expecting around 400 to 500 people to attend,” he added.

A gala ticket is $750; reservations are needed by Aug. 26. Cocktail attire is suggested.

Tables of eight and sponsorships are available. For information, call 412-930-8051 or visit trustarts.org.