 |
Caroling after dinner with Gail Hilson (left). Photo: DPC. |
12/5. Yesterday in New York, grey but not rainy, cold but not very. But gridlock. T’is the season – the 2008 version. I went down to the newly re-opened Oak Bar in the Plaza where Peggy Siegal was hosting a lunch for Gus Van Sant and James Franco, the director and the star, in celebration of their newly released film, Focus Features’ “Milk” starring Sean Penn. Mr. Penn had left town, having finished his media New York duties for the film for the moment.
First things: the Plaza Hotel is in the midst of becoming a destination once again. The Oak Room has been refurbished and is still the great room it always was. The Oak Bar looks much the same although the banquettes and accompanying seating has been “updated.” It’s a great room at all times of the day, where yoku can sit and watch the crowd or watch the crowd passing by the windows on Central Park South. Anyone who remembers the old Plaza with affection will be happy with the new. The “there” is still there. It’s “old” New York and “now” New York. There are very few places like that left in New York.
The luncheon was very casual. Mr. Franco wasn’t there – at least not by the time I got there. Mr. Van Sant was there. He’s a very quiet man with an almost self-effacing presence although when you converse with him about his work, he has natural self-confidence. Everybody in the room is very excited about the film. My friend Peter Rogers told me yesterday that he saw it the night before and forgot he was watching Sean Penn, thinking he was watching Harvey Milk. |
|
 |
|
| Gus van Sant talking to Jeremy Piven |
James Shamus, Tovah Feldshuh, and Ben Cohen (co-producer of "Milk") |
Jane Fonda was at a screening of it the other night and it turned out she’d worked with Harvey Milk in San Francisco on one of his issues. After watching Sean Penn she said he “channeled Harvey Milk” he so resembled him. James Shamus was there. He is a professor who started Focus Features. Another one of his films is “Brokeback Mountain.” Mr. Shamus indeed does seem like a college professor in that he’s congenial, gracious, friendly and very un-Hollywood dealer-maker-y. Which of course doesn’t mean he isn’t all of those things because that's show biz kid. But he was very pleasant company and seemed as pleased as everybody else that it was working out so well. Now they’re looking at the Oscar nominees.
Ms. Siegal is in her glory now with screenings almost every night and luncheons and dinners almost every day. Beating the drum madly. Today, for example, she’s hosting a luncheon at Michael’s for Kate Winslet and her new picture. |
|
|
|
|
|
| Gus Van Sant |
Peggy Siegal and Joey Allaham of the Plaza |
David Margolick and Marty Katz |
After the Plaza I couldn’t resist stopping by Michael’s to see if I missed anything. All kinds of Hollywood there too. Ron Howard was being interview in the bay about his new film “Nixon/Frost.” Bonnie Timmerman was occupying my regular table. Liz Smith was lunching with the Daily Variety’s Peter Bart and his wife Phyllis, in from L.A. Right next to them, movie mogul Herb Siegel was lunching with former actor/now entrepreneur businessman Wayne Rogers. On the other side of Liz’ table, her old friend Joe Armstrong was lunching with Dr. Sarah Simms Rosenthal.
Two tables over Phyllis George was lunching with Steve Tyrell who is currently knockin’ em dead nightly at the Café Carlyle. Next to them was Jane Stanton Hitchcock making one of her rare visits to her hometown now that she is a dyed-in-the-wool Georgetown damsel. She was lunching with Christy Ferer. People think that New Yorkers gossip, Hollywood gossips ... ha! Try Georgetown where our nation’s capital becomes the village it is. Mrs. Hitchcock is finishing a new novel. I think. Her métier is usually New York but I think she likes Washington/Georgetown because it’s dishier. After all, Kitty Kelley lives there too. These girls know what they’re doing. |
 |
Yesterday at Michael's (clockwise from top):
Peter Bart, Liz Smith, and Phyllis Bart; Dr. Sarah Simms Rosenthal, Joe Armstrong, and Debbie; Phyllis George and Steve Tyrell. |
I don’t know what any of these tables were talking about but I know that any one of them was involved in interesting conversation because these were all people who have a wide array of friends, acquaintances and associates involved in the thick of it and all of them are related by no more than 2 degrees of separation.
The Night. Started out at the Park Avenue Armory on 67th and Park where the AVENUE-Wendy Show was presenting “Antiques and Art at the Armory” with a benefit gala for The Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity. Claude Wasserstein, Julie Dannenberg, Richard and Marcia Mishaan and Dr. Sally Shaywitz were the benefit chairs. It’s a beautiful show but it’s only on until Sunday, so get over there.
I got a few shots of some stalls but there’s so much to see that a photo is highly inadequate. I saw Ben Steinitz, the Parisian antiquaire who has great 17th and18th century treasures. Such things are the essence of whence came the notion of luxury, now gone so far astray. These shows are a respite. It’s calming to be in the presence of, to consider.
By quarter to eight, there was a lively crowd at the four-sided bar and the hors d’oeuvres were being passed.
|
| Isabel Chester and Bentley Meeker |
Somers Farkas |
Jackie Astier |
Janna Bullock |
 |
| Millwood Antiques, Millwood, VA. |
|
| Sydney Biddle Barrows and Nancy Bonwit |
Elimar Coelho and Barbara Goodman |
Julie Dannenberg |
| Milord Antiquities, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. |
|
 |
| Curt and Tammy Mobley |
Montgomery Frazier, Michael Arguello, Anait Bian, and Dr. Douglas Steinbrech |
| Joanna Booth, London, UK. |
The Englishman Fine Art & Antiques, London, Naples, Vail Valley, Atlanta. |
| Tess and Janet Allon |
Peter and Allison Rockefeller with Dr. Sally Shaywitz |
Kim Hicks, Jennifer Rowe, and Gillian Miniter |
| The Chinese Art Gallery, New York, NY. |
|
 |
| Jay Snyder and Nathanial Kramer |
Dr. and Mrs. Howard Sobel |
Felicia Taylor |
 |
| Derek and Tina Rayment Antiques, Cheshire, UK. |
|
| Hollis Reh and Sharif |
Jeremiah Silva, R. Couri, and Justin Estill |
| Benjamin Steinitz |
Guy Regal |
| Tracy Snyder and Debbie Bancroft |
Patty Raynes |
Ceil Ainsworth and Susan Davis |
| Meanwhile down on 12th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A, Russell Labosky and Lewis Miller, the horticultural geniuses behind LMD (floral events interiors), were hosting a book party in their beautiful new space for Rizzoli’s “Ted Muehling: A Portrait by Don Freeman." |
| Don Freeman and Ted Muehling |
Ted Muehling, A Portrait by Don Freeman. Click image to order [2]. |
 |
The scene at LMD |
| Mr. Freeman has been documenting the work of the SoHo jewelry designer. The space was all candlelight, very dark and sexy downtown. I didn’t get down there but JH and the Digital stopped by. |
| C.B. |
LMD's Lewis Miller and Russell Labosky with Albert Orta (middle) |
| Dana and Jon Charette |
Lewis Miller and Elizabeth Allen |
Saul Ramirez |
| Susan Houser and Kristen Eikenberry |
Marcel Salina, Robert Escalera, and Elle Radzinsky |
| Carleen Ligozio |
Greta Gerver |
Sequinette |
| David Cafiero, Ned Martel, and Stephen Watson |
Pepe Garcia and Julio Espada |
| Tom Ryan and Jolie Wernette-Horn |
LMD's conference table |
I left for dinner a few blocks down the avenue. Gail Hilson was hosting small Holiday dinner. Black tie. Several women were in red. The table setting was red. There were red roses on the table. And it was candlelit. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. At the beginning of the dinner, one of the guests urged that we all focus on having a good time. There we were, in a beautiful spot in this great city, people dressed to dine, in the company of friends or friendly people. The news centering around the financials are very much on almost everyone’s mind right now. I don’t know how much it’s discussed because it’s hard to know quite what to discuss about it with another. But it’s there.
So last night at Gail Hilson’s there were several toasts to the hostess who mentioned that several of her women friends present were women she’d worked closely with on the Central Park Conservancy or Sloan-Kettering. That remark defines, in a way, how society functions in New York today: those who concertedly work together on certain philanthropic, cultural and civic projects that assert and exert a lot of influence in the community. The most active of these women are all leaders.
|
|
|
|
| George Kaufman, Kitty McKnight, Mariana Kaufman, and Bill McKnight |
The dinner table |
So there we were. One male guest pointed out that although the majority of the people at the table probably voted Republican, we were lucky to all be together to wishing the best for our country and the promise of a new President. Many are very excited about Mr. Obama’s Presidency. I think many view the Obama Presidency as representing a fresh start. We need one. Fresh. Start.
After dinner, our hostess did what she loves to do most: with a young man at the piano in the next room and a personally-made songbook of American tunes and Christmas carols, everybody stood around and sang.
It’s fun and funny to watch people sing, as you can see by the photograph. Singing really does raise us up, raises spirits. The people in the room loved to sing. And so we did. For about an hour. And then it was time to call it a good night. After quite a long day in New York. |
| Kitty McNight |
Susan Burke and Melinda Blinken |
Jamee Gregory and Somers Farkas |
| Kitty McNight and Karen LeFrak |
DPC and Karen LeFrak caroling |
| Photographs by DPC, JH & Ann Watt |
Comments? Contact DPC here. [3] |
Links:
[1] http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A//www.amazon.com/Ted-Muehling-Portrait-Don-Freeman/dp/0847830802?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228444288&sr=8-1&tag=newyorksocial-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325
[2] http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A//www.amazon.com/Ted-Muehling-Portrait-Don-Freeman/dp/0847830802?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228444288&sr=8-1&tag=newyorksocial-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325
[3] mailto:dpc@newyorksocialdiary.com
[1]
