Esteemed film, television, and Broadway actor Norm Lewis will headline Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s Gala on Saturday, April 9, at the historic War Memorial Auditorium in downtown Nashville.

Co-chaired by TPAC Board Member Adam Sansiveri and Nancy Floyd, TPAC Gala is the nonprofit organization’s annual fundraising event that provides critical resources for its educational, cultural, and community engagement activities.

One of Nashville’s premier black-tie benefit engagements, TPAC Gala begins with cocktails at 6 p.m. in the courtyard at War Memorial Auditorium, followed by with a seated fine-dining experience at 7:30 p.m. and presentation by Jennifer Turner, TPAC’s President and CEO, and a performance from Lewis. Other TPAC Gala details include catering by G Catering, floral design by Mary Love Richardson of Rosemary & Finch, and event-planning and coordination by Kristen Sheft.

The Late Party, presented by Sidewalk Records and co-chaired by Jason Jenkins and Matt Niehoff begins following Gala with cocktails, light bites and entertainment by The Downtown Band. Tickets to the Late party are $175 per couple or $100 per person. Tickets to TPAC Gala Late Party are available now at TPAC.org/LateParty.

With an illustrious career on stage and screen spanning over three decades, Norm Lewis is a Tony, Emmy, and SAG nominee who has inspired generations of new artists with his work. Lewis, who recently performed at TPAC as part of the Cabaret on Stage series co-presented by Studio Tenn in 2021, made history as the first African American to play ‘Phantom’ in “The Phantom of the Opera” on Broadway in 2014, and has portrayed ‘Javert’ in “Les Misérables” on Broadway and the West End.

Broadway credits include his recent performance in “Chicken and Biscuits” at Circle In The Square Theatre, as well as “Sondheim on Sondheim,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Chicago,” “Amour,” “The Wild Party,” “Side Show,” “Miss Saigon,” “The Who’s Tommy” and “The Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess,” for which he received Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominations. Some of his notable film and television credits include Netflix’s critically acclaimed “Da 5 Bloods” by Spike Lee, the NBC television special “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert,” the FX series “Pose,” “Scandal,” “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “The Blacklist,” “Blue Bloods,” “Sex and the City 2” and “Winter’s Tale.” Lewis is a proud founding member of Black Theatre United, an organization which stands together to help protect Black people, Black talent and Black lives of all shapes and orientations in theatre and communities across the country.

In addition to performing an array of Broadway classics and crowd favorites at the event, Lewis will receive TPAC’s Impact Award for his trailblazing theatrical and musical accomplishments.

“We are thrilled to have an entertainer of Norm’s caliber performing at TPAC Gala,” says co-chairs Floyd and Sansiveri. “It’s been two-and-a-half years since the last TPAC Gala was held, so we’re looking forward to a fun and beautiful night celebrating the transformative work TPAC has done for our community over the past 41 years and the many exciting things they have in store.”

The title sponsor for TPAC Gala is Delta Dental of Tennessee. Additional sponsors for the event are AllianceBernstein, BlueCross BlueShield of TN, CinemaSins, Delek Fund for Hope, Dollar General, Earl Swennson Associates, Fifth Third Bank, Hardaway Construction, HCA Healthcare/TriStar Health, I.C. Thomasson Associates, Inc., Martha R. Ingram, Johnson Poss Kirby, Nashville Convention Visitors Corporation, REN Dermatology, Smith Seckman Reid, TravelLink, and Vanderbilt University.

A cultural anchor institution in Middle Tennessee, TPAC administers one of the most comprehensive, curriculum-based arts education programs in the United States, offering access to a variety of learning opportunities. Serving tens of thousands of teachers and students each year in 26 counties across Tennessee, TPAC’s education programs spark early learning, enhance classroom achievement, and provide valuable professional development for teachers.

Programs include TPAC’s Season for Young People, Wolf Trap Early Leaning through the Arts, TPAC InsideOut, Disney Musicals in Schools, the Nashville High School Musical Theatre Awards (Spotlight Awards), and an inaugural Summer Camp program set for launch this July. TPAC is home to the annual HCA Healthcare/TriStar Health Broadway at TPAC series, supported by the HCA Foundation on behalf of HCA and the TriStar Family of Hospitals, a wide variety of special engagements and the work of three professional resident companies, including Nashville Ballet, Nashville Opera, and Nashville Repertory Theatre.

For event inquiries, please contact Kristen Sheft at ksheft@tpac.org. To learn more about TPAC’s nonprofit mission, visit www.tpac.org/support