Feature: ChaShaMa Gala Celebrates BroadwayHD with Bonnie Comley & Stewart F. Lane, and Rosenberg Law

Anita Durst, the founder of ChaShaMa, held a two-day celebration to honor theater streaming service BroadwayHD, Bonnie Comley & Stewart F. Lane, and Gary Rosenberg of Rosenberg & Estis, P.C.  The two-part event: ChaShaMa Gala and ChaShaMa-Rama, were held in Times Square with a thousand plus guests passing through almost two hundred art installations, roaming performance artists and interactive exhibits. As the evening marches on, it's difficult to tell the guests from the performers in this Burning Man-eques festival!

The first event offered food and drinks, including crunchy and scrumptious bug snacks from Bug Out: Another Taste. If that is not your thing, you could head over to the Body Sushi Station with Amanda Moore! The ways of eating with just as intriguing and exciting as the non-edible exhibits! 

Anita Durst created ChaShaMa in 1995 and has transformed dozens of locations throughout New York City in its 28 years. ChaShaMa has partnered with developers and property owners to transform their empty buildings into centers of creativity to increase local foot traffic and support area businesses. These spaces are also used for artists, small businesses, and free community-centric art classes. Through ChaShaMa, Anita Durst has launched the careers of over 12,000 artists by using temporarily vacant storefronts and windows for free public installation spaces, artists' workspaces, and presentation spaces. These are a few of the reasons that Anita Durst has been called a modern-day Peggy Guggenheim.  

One of the evening's honorees, BroadwayHD is the only streaming service offering premium full-length stage plays and musicals to theater fans across the globe. BroadwayHD offers subscribers unlimited, on-demand access to a library of more than 300 titles from Broadway, The West End, and beyond! BroadwayHD has introduced the excitement of 'live theater' to a younger audience and made theater accessible to those who may not have the opportunity to visit a Broadway theater in New York. It also attracts new fans and nurtures their interest in attending a live performance. "ChaShama values organizations and individuals with a long-standing commitment to the arts. We are thrilled to recognize BroadwayHD as the leader in the digital transformation of live theatre arts," said Anita Durst. A 30-foot BroadwayHD tribute wall designed by artist Remy Knopf featured the BroadwayHD mission statement, posters, and a giant screen tv with headsets for viewing BroadwayHD videos.

Also celebrating the festivities was honoree Gary M. Rosenberg, the Founding Member of Rosenberg & Estis, P.C., and his wife, Denise Rosenberg.  Since 1990, Gary M. Rosenberg has been involved in several of the most significant and complex developments in New York. Rosenberg is presently active in financing and developing over $1.1 billion of new construction.

As of June 9, ChaShaMa has reached its fundraising goal for the gala. But they are still taking donations through their website (www.ChaShaMa.org) OR bidding on the silent auction at https://chashama.betterworld.org/auctions/chashama-gala.

For more information on BroadwayHD, visit www.BroadwayHD.com

Photos from the event are by Annie Watt Photography, S. Eichner (for Rob Rich/SocietyAllure.com), Rupert Ramsay (BFA.com), and Slaven Vlasic (GettyImages)

Viewer Discretion is advised for viewing photos... may not be suitable for younger audiences.

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