The power of stories inspired more than 400 guests to celebrate Victory Gardens Theater’s 45th anniversary season in October at Four Seasons Hotel. The benefit showcased two original five-minute plays telling unique Chicago stories by Chaz Ebert (CEO of Ebert Digital LLC) and Stacy Janiak (managing partner and chief growth officer at Deloitte). Stage veteran Justina Machado (“One Day at a Time”) and Tony Award-nominated Phillipa Soo (Broadway’s “Hamilton”) received Victory Gardens’ Theater Impact Awards in recognition of their exceptional contribution to the arts. The event raised a record-breaking $560,000 to help underwrite the cost of producing world premieres, provide education programs for Chicago Public Schools, and make theater available and accessible to all.

Photos courtesy Timothy M. Schmidt