户外变室内：Cedars-Sinai Sunset Soirée 48小时紧急转场的策划复盘

Cedars-Sinai’s Board of Governors Sunset Soirée raised millions to help fund early-stage medical research.Photo: Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors

BURBANK, CALIF.—Just a few days before Cedars-Sinai's Board of Governors Sunset Soirée, event producer Missy Slay faced a problem no one wants to encounter while planning a 750-guest outdoor gala: The weather forecast was getting worse by the hour.

The Oct. 11 hospital fundraiser was supposed to take over Midwest Street on the Warner Bros. Studio Lot, transforming the iconic backlot into an immersive Hollywood streetscape complete with food and retail pop-ups, illuminated trees, and recognizable TV and movie facades. But as the chance of rain climbed to 81%, Slay, principal of SLAY Events, knew the original plan wasn't going to work.

"We were 48 hours in advance. We were in full execution mode," Slay recalled. "We had been sending out our final supplier packets for our installs."

What followed was a massive last-minute production pivot that moved the entire event indoors—and ultimately helped Cedars-Sinai raise more than $3.1 million for its Innovation to Impact campaign.

Photo: Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors

The gala brought together guests from entertainment, healthcare, business, and philanthropy to honor the team behind HBO Max's medical drama The Pitt, including Noah Wyle, John Wells, and R. Scott Gemmill, as well as philanthropists Jaime and Andrew Schwartzberg. The Warner Bros. setting was particularly fitting: The Pitt films on the Burbank lot, and Cedars-Sinai medical professionals have contributed their expertise to the series.

For Cedars-Sinai leadership, the biggest surprise of the evening wasn't just that the production team managed to pull off the move. It was that the indoor version may have worked even better than the original plan.

"The very preliminary after-action conversations and after-action reports, and even feedback that night, was, 'Oh my gosh, this works so well on the soundstages,'" said Arthur J. Ochoa, senior vice president, advancement and chief advancement officer at Cedars-Sinai.

In fact, the organization is already considering using the indoor spaces again for its next gala.

Photo: Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors

Although the team had a rain contingency plan, there wasn't enough coverage available to accommodate the guests outdoors. After learning that two Warner Bros. soundstages could be made available—provided they were cleared of existing production equipment—the team ultimately made the call to move the entire gala indoors.

"Moving to the soundstages required us to pivot quickly, creatively, and thoughtfully," Slay said. "The priority was always to preserve that original vision and magic of Midwest Street, and to never compromise the guest experience."

The main challenge was recreating the charm of the outdoor streetscape inside two disconnected soundstages totaling approximately 46,000 square feet—with virtually no time to rethink the budget. "As an event producer, it's typically a dream to be in an open, empty canvas," Slay noted. "But with just 48 hours, our biggest challenge was: How can we dress this space and make it feel that it was intentional?"

Photo: Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors

The solution was to bring the streetscape indoors. The production team fabricated storefronts to replace the backlot facades, complete with branding for the event's food and beverage partners. Lampposts, street signs, and 12- to 13-foot illuminated trees helped evoke the feeling of an outdoor neighborhood. Even a 34-foot candy coach was accommodated inside the new space.

The team also recreated a pop-up from event sponsor Steak 48, incorporating chandeliers, signage, banquettes, and other restaurant details to maintain the original vision. "They wanted it to be like a real Steak 48 pop-up experience," Slay explained, noting that the high-end steakhouse donated all its food for the evening.

Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors

The new layout divided the event into two distinct experiences. Soundstage 23 hosted the reception, with immersive activations and food offerings from partners including Steak 48, Pink's Hot Dogs, Sweetgreen, and Van Leeuwen. Guests then transitioned to Soundstage 30 for the awards program, live auction, and entertainment.

Because the soundstages weren't connected, the team also had to rethink guest circulation and plan for potentially rainy transitions between spaces. And with vendors already having ordered provisions based on the original schedule, Slay's team extended the dining experience into the second soundstage rather than let food go to waste.

"We moved coffee stations, dessert stations, as well as another Steak 48 pop-up in that space," she said.

Photo: Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors

The Board of Governors had deliberately moved away from traditional ballroom galas in recent years, Ochoa noted, hoping to attract a younger, more diverse generation of supporters without alienating longtime donors. "Without losing anyone in our base demographic, we needed to expand the demo," Ochoa said. "They decided that something that felt more akin to a block party was the right way to go."

The organization first brought that concept to the Warner Bros. backlot in 2024, but the outdoor setting had a drawback: Guests were spread across various streets, making it difficult to find one another—or even discover all the food offerings. "In a better-lit soundstage, in a closed environment, people were able to get around to see one another," Ochoa said. "People were able to pick and choose from all the interesting food stations.”

The indoor setting also offered advantages for the evening's formal program. "That worked very well inside acoustically. It was easier to see the videos, and I think, frankly, people were just more comfortable," Ochoa said, noting the chilly weather that evening.

Behind the scenes, the gala required coordination among more than 37 vendors, with the Warner Bros. events team playing a critical role in the last-minute changes. "Our partners at Warner Bros. were amazing. They were literally our lifeline," Slay said. "Every time something came up—and we were literally pivoting every element—they were always there for us."

Photo: Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors

The team also had to adjust the logistics surrounding the evening's celebrity honorees and performers. Actress Katherine LaNasa, who stars in The Pitt, presented the Hollywood Leadership Award to Wyle, Wells, and Gemmill, while musician Andy Grammer closed the evening with a performance that included "Honey, I'm Good" and "Keep Your Head Up."

Despite the scramble, the indoor environment still delivered some Hollywood magic. Slay recalled overhearing LaNasa describe the reception space as "so charming" and "very old-school Hollywoodish." "To me, that was like, ‘OK, this is working out for us,’" Slay said.

Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors

The gala supported the Board of Governors' $60 million Innovation to Impact campaign, which funds early-stage medical research in areas including cancer, neurosciences, children's health, autoimmune diseases, and metabolic diseases and aging.

Ochoa said both groups of honorees helped keep Cedars-Sinai's mission front and center. He was particularly struck by the tribute video created by The Pitt team, which focused less on the honorees themselves and more on the challenges facing emergency medicine.

"It shocked me how focused it was on [Cedars-Sinai], and how focused it was on the difficulties of providing clinical care generally and emergency care, in particular in the U.S. today and in urban centers," he said.

Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors

For Ochoa, though, one of the most memorable moments was simply walking into the finished spaces and seeing the event unfold. "My favorite moment was honestly being able to show up to an event that was proceeding," he said with a laugh. "Just seeing the whole thing executed as flawlessly as it was after that massive pivot.”

And while the unexpected move required what Slay described as a "Herculean effort" from the production team and the events team at Cedars-Sinai, it also reinforced the importance of flexibility and collaboration in live events.

"The setting changed, but the heart of the evening remained the same," she said. "It was about celebrating generosity and advancing healthcare. It made all the hard work worthwhile."

Additional vendors included Ultraviolet Florals, A3 Visual, Found Rentals, The Candy Coach, BBJ La Tavola, MTB Event Rentals, Royal Restrooms, The Green Screen, Bright Rentals, and Town & Country Event Rentals.