CAPA to Host Sold-Out 2022 CAPA Gala Celebration Honoring Larry and Donna James

Co-chaired by Benita and Lewis Smoot Jr., the CAPA Gala Celebration is the performing arts non-profit organization’s annual fundraising event that provides critical resources to continue its educational initiatives, cultural programming, and community engagement activities and events. In 2022, the sold-out event will honor Donna and Larry James for their extraordinary leadership and many contributions to the arts community of central Ohio.

On Saturday, May 14, the 2022 CAPA Gala Celebration will present performances from a selection of local artists and be headlined by film, telelvision, and Broadway performer Norm Lewis who will perform an array of Broadway classics and crowd favorites on the stage of CAPA’s beloved Palace Theatre.

The 2022 CAPA Gala Celebration is made possible through the generous support of AEP Foundation, Cardinal Health, Crabbe Brown & James, Muese Family Foundation, PNC, Smoot Construction Company, Premium Beverage Supply, and many individual donations. All proceeds from the event will support CAPA’s education and outreach programs.

About Norm Lewis
Norm Lewis is an Emmy, Grammy, Tony, and SAG-nominated performer with a career spanning film, television, and theatre. He most recently starred in the hit Broadway comedy Chicken & Biscuits, which marked Lewis’ first turn in a Broadway play. The play was one of seven new plays in the 2021 season written by Black playwrights (Douglas Lyons); it was also directed by the youngest Black director in Broadway history (Zhailon Levingston). Most recently, Lewis made his solo debut at the iconic Carnegie Hall on March 4, 2022 with the New York Pops.

Lewis’ Broadway credits include The Phantom of the Opera (making history in 2014 as Broadway’s first African American Phantom), the Tony Award-winning revival of Once on This Island, The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess, Sondheim on Sondheim, The Little Mermaid, and Les Misérables. He also starred in the 2017 Off-Broadway production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, receiving the AUDELCO Award for his performance. Lewis’ screen credits include Spike Lee’s critically acclaimed film, Da 5 Bloods, FX’s “Pose,” Hulu’s “Mrs. America,” NBC’s “Law & Order” and “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert!,” ABC’s “Scandal,” Lifetime’s Christmas in Tune, six PBS specials, and most recently, ABC's “Women of The Movement.”

Lewis is also 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.

About CAPA
Owner/operator of downtown Columbus’ magnificent historic theatres (Ohio Theatre, Palace Theatre, Southern Theatre) and manager of the Riffe Center Theatre Complex, Lincoln Theatre, Drexel Theatre, Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts (New Albany, OH), and the Shubert Theatre (New Haven, CT), CAPA is a non-profit, award-winning presenter of national and international performing arts and entertainment.