A Worthy Purchase

Susie Essman was the emcee at the Nelson A. Rockefeller awards ceremony last night, an event orchestrated by SUNY Purchase and benefitting the school's arts programs. Among the honorees at the evening's event were choreographer Paul Taylor, artist Kiki Smith, jazzman Paquito D'Rivera, playwright Lynn Nottage and philanthropists Donald and Jane Cecil. During her remarks, the normally salty Essman kept things clean, as university president Thomas Schwarz looked on, later recommending the comedienne's book, What Would Susie Say? to everyone in the audience--provided they were over the age of 21.

The medals presentation was interspersed by performances by students from the college's arts program, vignettes lifted from the oevre of the honorees' work. The entertainment included Taylor's Company B and a scene from Nottage's Intimate Apparel.

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