2026 WORDPLAY GALA
Thank you to our over 280 guests for joining us at the 2026 WordPlay Gala – Night Music: An Evening of Sondheim and Friends on Saturday, April 25, 2026, at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago. Highlights of the evening included a moving, one-night-only performance and the thrilling live auction.
Together, we raised a record-breaking $1 Million dollars to support Writers Theatre’s artistic excellence and educational programming. Thank you to everyone who joined us at the WordPlay Gala, and to everyone who supported us from home!
Save the Date for WordPlay Gala 2027: May 1, 2027 at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago.
SPIRIT OF WRITERS THEATRE AWARD HONOREES
Rick & Deanne Bayless
LEAD SPONSORS Gary Neilson & Trudy Havens John D. and Alexandra C. Nichols Elaine & Richard Tinberg Linda & Craig Umans | VICE CHAIRS Rick & Deann Bayless Sara & Dan Cohan Ellis Goodman Family Foundation Gail & Tom Hodges Russ & Anne Mayerfeld Christopher & Sara Pfaff Jennifer & Boris Rapoport Steven & Onnie Scheyer Mary Pat & Andy Studdert Thys & Kendra Nichols Wallace | SPONSORS Capital Group Private Client Services Dominic & Jessica Green Elsa & Kevin King Michael & Edith Cohen Michael & Laurie Petersen Northern Trust Uri Wilensky & Donna Woods |
BENEFACTORS
Cohen Capital Nicole Elipas Doherty & Brion Doherty JP Morgan Private Bank The Pfaff, Bailey, McCannon, and Fuelleman Group | Adam Garber & Stacey Dembo Heidi Kiesler & Bob Nauert Clyde McGregor & LeAnn Pope Robert & Nadiia Petrie | Sonia Smith-Evans & Keith Pegues Donna & David Tropp 1834, a division of Old National Bank |
SUPPORTERS
Susan & Stephen Baird Douglas Bradbury Spark Cremin & Paul Dykstra Lloyd & Jan Culbertson | Dale & Skip Davison Fox Swibel Levin & Carroll LLP Jaime & Ben Freeman Bruce & Laureen Grieve Robyn & David Grossberg | Lloyd Morgan Jason Mueller & Christina Antonopoulos Ann & Chris Sciortino Mark & Gwen Stein Victoria Lasser & John Winter |
FRIENDS
Shilpa Reddy & Toby Efferen David & Nicole Roberts Diana & Michael Rosenbloom Erin & Heath Ross Peggy & Jon Rubenstein Desireé Ruhstrat John & Alice Sabl David & Karen Sager David & Judy Schiffman Susan & Roger Schmitt Seth & Reesa Schreier Jill Sick Stephanie & Bill* Sick Scott & Jackie Silberstein Meera Sinha & Nate Rennicke Steve & Gale Smith Philip Smith & Louise Lamson Susan & Bob Underwood Marilyn & Michael Vender Anne Wilson & Michael Nagelbach Reid & Laura Wilson Janet & Chris Winslow Braden Abraham & Cheyenne Casebier David Adelson Andrea Alexander & Peter Roehrich Joe & Natalie Angel Annabel Armour & Art Fox Jacob & Rachel Avraham Sarah & Larry Barden Graham & Anna Bauer Nancy & Ken Behles Paul & Pam Boneham | Brittany Bossard & Chris Chang Congregation Sukkat Shalom Lydia & Clay Cannady Mike & Laurie Cavalier Rendhir & Geetika Chandran Amrita Chari Gail Couture Don & Cathy Dabisch Marcia & Tom Desmond Elizabeth & Tim Dugan Chaz Ebert Toni & Jim Elipas Sara Elsasser & Tim Holbrook Kathy & Jim Enstrom Diane M Falk Aaron & Whitney Fershee Ed Zifkin and Sue Fieldman Jason & Anjie Flowers Shannon & Patrick Ford Judith Freeman Fritz & Cathy Freidinger Brad Friedman & Joelle Billow Bess Gallanis Mollie Gawronski & Steve Hunt Laura & Alex Glaser Lauren & Jesse Goldman Paul & Fabiana Goodman Cathy Green Barbara Greis Gloria Groom & Joe Brenton Vered Hankin | Melanie Hauck & Jim Hertel Marty Hauselman Sarah Heck Craig Henderson Andrew & Marissa Ingley Chris Johnson & Sarah Ehrhardt Emily & Mark Karns Mark & Heather Keldahl Steve Kriz & Ryan Copi Lydia & Stefan Kutko Steven & Elissa Lafayette Tom Larance MaryLiz Lehman Laurie Levin Catherine Lundstrom Phil & Mary Manade Joey & Lisa Matos Dave Mazurek & MaryLiz Tully Bill & Corinne McClintic Doug McClure Charles McDonald & Diane Curtis Anne McGovern Timothy & Carlye McGregor Lynda & Bill McKay Diana & Johnny Moustoukas Julian Oettinger Meiko Ogura Jennifer Parkinson Rakesh Amin & Sonal Patel Nidhi Patel Levenfeld Pearlstein Will Petersen Christine & Michael Pope Doris Pregenzer Danae Prousis Karen Randolph & Bill Linden Alice Read |