Last night in N.Y.: Stevie Wonder, Jon Stewart and big bucks for charity
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This morning I woke up feeling like a different woman: a little more exuberant, with a little more spring in my step.
That's the power of Stevie Wonder.
Last night I saw Wonder perform at New York's beautiful Beacon Theatre, where he headlined a gala benefiting the Gateway Schools. I don't attend a lot of galas, so the entire experience was an eye-opener for me, from seeing A-list hosts Matt Damon and Robert De Niro introduce the talent (alongside their wives, Lucy Damon and Grace Hightower De Niro) to witnessing a fast-paced charity auction where bids reached into the mid-$20,000 range. (I dreamed of bidding on the "Epicurean Delight" package where a professional chef prepares a dinner at your home and Top Chef's Gail Simmons tags along; alas, I had only about $23 in my purse.)
So who served as the evening's opening act? None other than Jon Stewart (!), whose stand-up touched upon President Obama, Osama bin Laden, Easter vs. Passover and Donald Trump. ("Is he here tonight?" Stewart asked cautiously.) Sure, a lot of it was cribbed from Monday's Daily Show, but it's just as funny the second time around.
As for Stevie, get this: The legend came onstage playing a keytar. The crowd went wild, and thus began a night of hit after hit, from Master Blaster (Jammin') to Sir Duke to My Cherie Amour to I Was Made to Love Her to ... well, you name it. He even played a few bars of I Just Called to Say I Love You, and the crowd loved every second of it.
As I danced to Superstition and Uptight (Everything's Alright) and Higher Ground, I marveled at Wonder's voice, which still sounds as clear and joyful as it does on his '60s records. Stevie's a big fan of audience participation, so we sang and clapped along to our youthful memories. As the set ended, I realized my face hurt from smiling so much.
Of course, the best thing about the night is that it raised tons of money (more than $2.2 million) for the Gateway Schools. At the beginning of the evening we were treated to a performance by young Gateway students in a "holistic hip-hop" class that included drumming, breakdancing and focused hip-hop moves.
Like Stevie, they received a long, loud standing ovation.
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