Palm Beach Dramaworks’ 25th Anniversary Celebrated with Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Congresswoman Lois Frankel

Mayor Keith James

West Palm Beach, Fla. (Friday, November 15, 2024) Congresswoman Lois Frankel and West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James joined Palm Beach Dramaworks Producing Artistic Director William Hayes, Managing Director Sue Ellen Beryl, Chief Financial & Operating Officer Rudina Toro, and numerous local dignitaries on Friday, November 8, for a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the company’s 25th anniversary and officially unveil the theatre’s modernized, new lobby.  

“We thought our 25th anniversary was the perfect time to do a complete renovation of our lobby and provide patrons with a welcoming space that offers a rich, sensory experience,” said Hayes. “It essentially invites everyone to spend time there, and that also goes for people who happen to be walking by the theatre. The art work is visible from the street, and we hope that people who have never been to PBD will be enticed to come in and learn what we’re all about.”


Prior to the start of the program, guests mingled in the eye-catching lobby, enjoying charcuterie and champagne. The ceremony began with radio personality Mike McGann from Legends Radio welcoming everyone and introducing the theatre’s co-founders, Beryl and Hayes. They looked back at the company’s history and spoke about some of the highlights, including being honored as the 2024 Non-Profit of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches.

Next came remarks from Frankel, then from James, who proclaimed November as PBD month in West Palm Beach. Representative Kelly Skidmore followed with a congratulatory Certificate of Recognition on behalf of the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners, which said in part, “Your productions have enriched audiences and invigorated the art community.”

Other notables in attendance were former mayor Jeri Muoio; Dave Lawrence, President and CEO of the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County; Commissioner Cathleen Ward; Michael Zeff, the new President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches (which organized the ribbon cutting); Chris Roog, Executive Director of the Community Redevelopment Agency; Kariana Ingram, PBC Delegation Aide; and Trudy Crowetz, CEO of Nonprofits First. 

Michael Zeff, Rudina Toro, Bill Hayes, Sue Ellen Beryl, Congresswoman Lois Frankel, Mayor Keith James, Representative Kelly Skidmore

Beryl and Hayes presided over the ribbon cutting, surrounded by Zeff, Toro, Frankel, James, and Skidmore. They followed that with another ceremonial cutting, this time of a cake made especially for the occasion. The event concluded with servings of cake – and more champagne! 

Diane and Mark Perlberg are the sponsors of PBD’s 25th Anniversary Season, which opened on November 1 to critical and popular acclaim with Neil Simon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Lost in Yonkers. The production runs through November 23.

The West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority and West Palm Beach Arts & Entertainment District are additional sponsors of PBD’s 25th Anniversary Season. 

Palm Beach Dramaworks is a professional, nonprofit theatre company founded in 2000 and located in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach. Each season, the award-winning company produces five mainstage shows and offers a wide variety of programs for students at the theatre and in schools. Committed to fostering the future of theatre, PBD has become a hub for playwrights in Florida and around the country to nurture their work through the Perlberg Festival of New Plays. PBD is a member of Theatre Communications Group, Florida Professional Theatres Association, the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County, and NNPN. In 2024, PBD was honored as Non-Profit of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches. palmbeachdramaworks.org


The Don & Ann Brown Theatre is located in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, at 201 Clematis Street. For ticket information contact the box office at (561) 514-4042, or visit tickets.palmbeachdramaworks.org

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Jennifer Sardone-Shiner

Marketing Consultant

(561) 891-7278

jshiner@palmbeachdramaworks.org 

www.palmbeachdramaworks.org

Palm Beach Dramaworks - 201 Clematis Street West Palm Beach FL 33401 - 561.514.4042