Giving

The Bailey Center for the Performing Arts

A Historic Gift. A New Beginning.

Something extraordinary is happening at Cranbrook.

Essel W. Bailey Jr. (Cranbrook Class of 1962) and Menakka Bailey have made a landmark $15 million gift to restore and permanently endow the Cranbrook Educational Community Performing Arts Center. In honor of this transformational commitment, the building will be renamed The Bailey Center for the Performing Arts. 
 
This is one of the most significant philanthropic gifts in Cranbrook's history. 

The renovation will honor the original 1932 Eliel Saarinen design while bringing the building fully into the 21st century. World-class acoustics, orchestra pit, state-of-the-art stage technology, expanded gathering spaces, and a reimagined lobby will make The Bailey Center a true crossroads of campus life: a home for performance, assembly, creativity, and community every day, not only on opening night. 
 
A permanent endowment, structured as part of the gift, ensures the building will not only be built to the highest standard but that it will be sustained there for every generation of students to come.
"Cranbrook made me who I am. The campus, the teachers, the discipline of sport and study, all of it started right here. I can think of no greater privilege than helping give the next generation of Cranbrook students a place to discover their own passions and reach their full potential. This building's story is not finished — it is just beginning its most important chapter, and we hope others will want to be part of writing it."
     - Essel W. Bailey Jr., Cranbrook Class of 1962

"At Cranbrook, our campus is one of our most important teachers. Eliel Saarinen designed these buildings not merely as places to learn, but as an education in themselves — spaces that ask something of everyone who enters them. Being a steward of that legacy is among the most serious responsibilities we carry. The Bailey Center will ensure it does so for generations to come." 
      - Aimeclaire Roche, President, Cranbrook Educational Community 

With Gratitude: The Community That Made This Possible.

The Bailey Center for the Performing Arts is not the gift of one person alone. It is the expression of a community that believes in the power of the arts, the importance of this campus, and the extraordinary potential of every student who walks through these doors. 
 
To every donor who has contributed to this campaign: thank you. What you have given is not simply money. It is a permanent part of the story of this building and the generations it will serve. The Baileys' historic lead gift set this historic transformation in motion; your generosity has given it breadth, momentum, and enduring strength. Together, we are building something that will outlast all of us. 
Essel W. Bailey Jr. ‘62 and Menakka Bailey
Paula J. Kemler ‘77
Carl Klemmer '89
William G. Lerchen, III
William S. Prady ‘77
Warren E. Rose
Janice Ross
Michael H. Schirmer Trust
Tod C. Williams ‘61

The Cranbrook Performing Arts Legacy.

Cranbrook Schools has a long and distinguished tradition of producing graduates who go on to careers at the highest levels of the performing arts, screen, and music industries. The long list of performing arts alumni speaks for itself and makes a compelling case for what a great program, great teachers, and a great stage can produce.

Below is a sample list of Cranbrook Kingswood Schools graduates who have excelled in the performing arts industry, with select career highlights. 

Performing Arts Alumni

List of 4 items.

  • Stage & Screen

    • Renée Elise Goldsberry '89 — Tony Award, Grammy Award, and Drama Desk Award winner, best known for her role as Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton. 
    • Martha Buhs Henry '55 — one of Canada's most celebrated Shakespearean performers, with 47 seasons at the Stratford Festival. Multiple Genie and Gemini Award winner; Companion of the Order of Canada. 
    • Douglas Sills '78 — Broadway star; Tony Award nominee for The Scarlet Pimpernel; SAG Award nominee (Best Ensemble, The Gilded Age). 
    • Selma Blair '90 — actress known for Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde, The Sweetest Thing, and the Hellboy franchise; winner of multiple Teen Choice and People's Choice awards. 
    • Jaime Ray Newman '96 — actress, producer, and singer; known for General Hospital, Veronica Mars, Stargate Atlantis, Eureka, and Little Fires Everywhere; Academy Award winner for Best Live Action Short Film as producer of Skin (2018).  
    • Chase Sui Wonders '14 — rising film and television actress, known for her acclaimed role in The Studio. 
    • Cole Thompson '17 — Broadway actor, most recently in Into the Woods. 
    • Dey Young '73 — actress and sculptor, best known for Pretty Woman, Rock 'n' Roll High School, Spaceballs, Melrose Place, and multiple Star Trek franchise appearances. Lifetime member of The Actors Studio. 

  • Film & Television Writing/Producing

    • Bill Prady '77 — television creator, writer, and producer; co-creator of The Big Bang Theory, one of the most-watched sitcoms in television history. 
    • Rob Edwards '81 — Writer and Producer, Disney's Treasure Planet and Disney's Princess and the Frog. 
    • Shana Waterman '91 — Former VP of Programming at Fox Broadcasting; now Head of Film & Television, Royal Ties Productions at Netflix. 
    • Susan Iskiwitch '03 — second assistant director; Second Unit Assistant Director on Barbie. 
    • Todd Kessler '90 — screenwriter and producer; The Sopranos, Damages, Bloodline. 
    • Glenn Kessler '88 — actor, screenwriter, and producer; Damages, Bloodline. 
    • Doug Miro '90 and Carlo Bernard '90 — writing and producing partners; best known for the acclaimed Netflix series Narcos. 
    • John Cohen '94 — animated film producer; credits include Despicable Me, The Angry Birds Movie, and The Garfield Movie.  

  • Cinematography

    • Nancy Schreiber '67, ASC — groundbreaking cinematographer; the fourth woman ever voted into the American Society of Cinematographers and the first to receive the ASC President's Award. Sundance Best Cinematography winner for November. 

  • Music

    • Barbara Lea '47 — jazz vocalist and celebrated interpreter of the Great American Songbook; DownBeat Critics' Poll Best New Singer of 1956; praised by the New York Times as "one of the great jazz singers of our time." 
    • Carol Rosenberger '51 — celebrated classical pianist, Grammy nominee, and recording artist with over 30 albums on the Delos label; Director of Delos Records. 
    • Dave McMurray '73 — jazz saxophonist, founding member of Was (Not Was); studio musician for The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Kid Rock, and many others.  
    • Amy Denio '79 — composer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist; inductee of the Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame; internationally recognized for her innovative work spanning avant-garde, jazz, and world music traditions. 
    • Jordan Broder '05 — violinist, saxophonist, and Founder and Director of NuClassica, an electro-pop violin and DJ band; appeared on Season 11 of NBC's America's Got Talent and has opened for artists including The Temptations, John Legend, and The Chainsmokers 
The Bailey Center for the Performing Arts will open a new chapter in the life of one of America's great educational campuses. We are profoundly grateful, and we invite the entire Cranbrook community to be part of what comes next.

Contact Us

PO Box 801
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303
(248) 645-3000

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