To prepare for directing the Broadway revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “South Pacific” at Lincoln Center Theater, which opens April 3, Bartlett Sher watched episodes of “Survivor” set in Papua New Guinea.

That — combined with a whole lot else — paid off: At Lincoln Center Theater’s gala performance of the show on March 13, it was clear no one would ever vote him, or any member of the cast or orchestra, off the island.

Stacey and Eric Mindich were so enthusiastic about the production that they volunteered to serve as gala chairmen and helped raise $1.6 million.

They won’t be voted off the island, either.

“To be in this play, at Lincoln Center Theater, is as good as it gets,” an understudy for the role of Liat, Emily Britanico, said of her Broadway debut. That’s exactly how gala attendees felt.

New ‘Heights’

Thomas Kail has spent hundreds of hours viewing musicals in the archives of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, so it was a coup to have the show he directs, “In the Heights,” which recently opened on Broadway, taped by the library last June during its off-Broadway run.

Yesterday, Lincoln Center strengthened its ties to Mr. Kail, who lives a few blocks away, by presenting him with the Martin E. Segal Award for young artists.

How will he use the award stipend, which increased this year to $7,500 from $5,000? “I’ve so not thought about it,” Mr. Kail said.

A Lone Wolf’s ‘Bride’

Kevin Augustine is an actor, playwright, puppet maker, and puppeteer, and his talent at each is exquisitely reflected in his new work, “Bride,” which opened Monday at Performance Space 122 and runs until March 30.

Mr. Augustine, who wrote the play and created the puppets, plays Father, a God figure overwhelmed and depressed by the telephone calls he receives from his people about their needs, wishes, and fears.

Father consoles himself with a new Idea, a puppet character. But Father puts too much pressure on his Idea, to disastrous effects.

In real life, Mr. Augustine, who runs the theater group Lone Wolf Tribe, bears little resemblance to Father, though mounting “Bride” has been exhausting.

If Mr. Augustine is tortured by anything, it is not his idea(s), but rather the amount of time and money it takes to pursue them.

That is why a home-cooked supper on a recent evening in a Park Slope brownstone was so meaningful. The event was organized by a Lone Wolf Tribe board member, Susan Martin, a business coach, to introduce her friends to Mr. Augustine’s work.

A television art director, Sue Able, found the puppets on display “charming and delightful,” adding, “I love that they’re made out of foam.”

Rachel and Wendell Green liked the idea of supporting an artist working alone and became benefactors of “Bride.”

“Artists spend all these years perfecting their work, and then suddenly they need all these marketing skills nobody ever told them about,” Mrs. Green, a divorce mediator, said.

And so “Bride” is, after three years of work, finally a reality.

agordon@nysun.com