"I don't think you can choose any one museum in New York as your favorite," said
Lorne Michaels. "They're all great." But after Wednesday night's gala at the American Museum of Natural History on Central Park West, there's little doubt which institution the
Saturday Night Live creator loves best. Michaels, along with fellow chair and MTV CEO
Tom Freston, was instrumental in enlisting the evening's entertainment:
Jon Stewart served as master of ceremonies, and
Neil Young performed. The famously well-connected comedy capo may also have had something to do with the star-studded guest list.
Tom Brokaw,
Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg,
Brian Williams, and many other boldfacers braved a downpour to sip drinks amid the looming barosaurus and allosaurus skeletons and to bid in a live auction that brought the night's total haul to $2 million.
Around 8 p.m., cocktails were interrupted by the sound of blaring bagpipes, and tartan-clad performers led guests to the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life. Awaiting them under the museum's beloved blue whale were tables adorned with orchids. "Here, take my caviar," said Debbie Bancroft during the appetizers, as she passed a spoonful over to Beth Rudin DeWoody. Following dinner, Stewart took to the podium and thanked Michaels personally. "I auditioned for you about ten years ago," quipped the funnyman. "You didn't hire me. I can see now that you were helping me. Thank you."
Current SNL cast members Seth Meyers, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Will Forte, and Darrell Hammond, as well as the week's guest host, Eva Longoria (who skipped out before dinner was finished), were on hand to support their boss' favorite cause. After a performance by Young in which he deplored the effects of global warming, Fey confessed to Poehler, "I think I left one of those lightbulbs on that Oprah said was bad for the environment!"
—Sarah Cristobal
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