Studio Theatre plows ahead with scaled-down gala in the snow

Ed Poe, Kate Debelack and Brandee Mathies, at Studio Theatre's snowbound gala on Saturday. (Amy Argetsinger/The Washington Post)

While most D.C. hosts cancelled parties this weekend, the troupers at Studio Theatre declared the gala must go on! And so it did, in defiantly scaled-down style. Of an expected 400 guests, only 150 made it to Logan Circle Saturday night, in a climate-adjusted range of attire. Kate Debelack and boyfriend Ed Poe were a study in contrasts: He in jeans, she in a cocktail dress and heels. "We Metro'd down to U Street, and then Ed carried everything" -- including her change of clothes -- "in a backpack," said Debelack, an actress and instructor at Studio's conservatory. With a snowbound caterer, theater staff pitched in to cook dinner; board members brought quiche and brownies. The night was a tribute to retiring artistic director Joy Zinoman, who was spoofed by drag queen Lypsinka. Said gala chair Liz Cullen: "Joy felt the show must go on."