- December 13, 2025
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A group of Sarasota theater, architecture and design mavens made waves in New York City at Hulaween, Bette Midler's annual benefit for her environmental nonprofit, the New York Restoration Project.
Most people know Midler as a Broadway and Hollywood icon, but she is also dedicated to preserving Gotham's green spaces, particularly in underserved areas.
The theme of this year's Hulaween, held Oct. 24 at Cipriani South Street, was "New York, New York, a Helluva Town!"
For the party, a group of Sarasota residents, led by Asolo Repertory Theatre Producing Artistic Director Peter Rothstein, real estate executive Michael Saunders and architect Todd DeGarmo wore costumes subway-inspired designed by Asolo Rep's costume shop.
In an interview, Rothstein said DeGarmo, a New York-based architect with a home in Sarasota, was the driving force behind the Sarasota group's whirlwind trip to the Big Apple.
"Todd is a principal at Studios Architecture in New York and does amazing work all over the world. He has a home in Sarasota and has become a friend since I moved here. He invited me and my husband Omar (Guevara-Soto) to the party," Rothstein says.
As word began to spread, the entourage from Sarasota expanded to about 10 people. Asolo Rep Costume Shop Manager David Kovach and his team were enlisted to design the costumes, which featured artful hats and Dracula-style black capes decorated in honor of the wearer's favorite subway stop or theme.
Rothstein's attire was an homage to the late street artist Keith Haring, who created over 5,000 public chalk drawings on black paper panels in subway stations during the 1980s. Saunders's elaborate headgear featured an assortment of vintage subway tokens, now replaced by swipe cards.
Fashion designer Adrienne Vittadini turned heads with a blooming hat dedicated to the New York Botanical Garden, complete with gazebo and flowers. The costumes of Robert and Anne Essner were inspired by William Wegman's dog mosaics in the 23rd Street subway station in Chelsea.
"A lot of the hats were quite epic," Rothstein says.
Also among the Sarasota group were Morris "Marty" Hylton, David Zaccardelli, Sarah Cox, Jordan Jeffers, Diane Weaver and Omar Butt.
Most of them flew out on Thursday night, Oct. 23, Rothstein said. On Friday, DeGarmo took them on a private tour of the brand new JPMorgan headquarters at 270 Park Ave. Foster + Partners was the lead architect for New York City’s largest all-electric tower, while interiors were designed by Gensler, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and DeGarmo's Studios.
At the Hulaween, guests were treated (not tricked) to "A Helluva Performance: A Musical Tribute to 30 Years of NYRP" hosted by Busy Phillips. Among those who dazzled the crowd were performers Ben Platt, Marisha Wallace, Sandra Bernhard, Shoshana Bean and Christopher Cross.
Midler received the Catalyst Award for her 30 years of environmental stewardship at NYRP, which was introduced by a comedic musical number by Billy Crystal and Marc Shaiman. In honor of its support for Hulaween, Studios Architecture received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Costume Design, which was presented by fashion designer Michael Kors.
In the Hulaween costume contest judged by multimedia artist and fashion icon Jordan Roth, the Sarasota group nabbed second prize.
Despite the lure of Broadway, Rothstein couldn't hang around New York. On Saturday morning, he flew back home to continue rehearsals of Asolo Rep's production of the musical "Come From Away," which opens Nov. 15.
Guevara-Soto stayed in New York over the weekend to see three Broadway shows — "Art," "Death Becomes Her" and "Oh, Mary!" — before returning to work at the Barancik Foundation, where he is strategic initiatives officer.
