At the Young Fellows of The Frick Collection's “Un Ballo in Maschera.”

Last night in New York, a week before the First of Spring. Beth DeWoody invited me to join her at a performance of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “South Pacific” at the Vivan Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. The original show, based on a Pulitzer Prize winning book of short stories – “Tales of the Pacific” by James Michener, opened on April 7, 1949. It was a Pulitzer Prize for Best Drama in 1950. It starred Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza and is the only musical ever to have won all four Tony Awards for acting. Music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan who also directed, and produced by Rodgers & Hammerstein with Leland Hayward and Joshua Logan. Almost the entire score became popoular American songs – “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Younger Than Springtime,” “There is Nothing Like A Dame,” “(I’m in love with) A Wonderful Guy,” “Bali Hai,” “Dites Moi,” “A Cockeyed Optimist,” “Happy Talk (keep talkin’ Happy Talk),” “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair.” The show, which was made into a film in 1958, has been revived very few times for such a huge hit initially. Except for a Concert version and a brief run in a London production directed by Trevor Nunn, the new production is the first major revival. Those of us old enough to remember the show, if not old enough to have seen it, are aware of the impact of the songs. Its stars, Martin and Pinza were major American musical stars of the highest ranking, close to legend. Therefore, with that in mind, never having seen the show, I was expecting a lot, maybe even something unrealistic from Paulo Szot and Kelli O’Hara who play the leads (Ensign Nellie Forbush and Emile de Becque). Furthermore this is a very late 40s, early 50s show; a sensibility a million miles away from the world we live in now. No need to fear disappointment. Szot and O’Hara are wonderful and with beautiful voices. Loretta Ables Sayre is wonderful as Bloody Mary (with two of the great songs – “Bali Hai” and “Happy Talk”). Matthew Morrison as the young romantic lead (Lt. Joseph Cable) as a kind of contemporary James Dean-ish personality is excellent, and with a  great high baritone singing voice (“Younger Than Springtime”). And then there was Danny Burstein as Billis, the pivotal character who provides the comic relief and moves the show along. Mr. Burstein shares the stage in several ensemble numbers but tends to own it by sheer force of the personality (Queens or maybe Brooklyn; okay, the Bronx). Last night’s performance was a benefit for Lincoln Center and the amphitheatre was filled with prominent names including one of Richard Rodgers’ daughter, composer Mary Rodgers Guettel (also mother of composer Adam Guettel) and a daughter of Oscar Hammerstein. The audience loved the show and the Vivian Beaumont is a great place to see a major musical.

After the show I went over to The Frick where the Young Fellows of The Frick Collection were holding their gala “Un Ballo in Maschera.” Chaired by Byrdie Bell (who celebrated her birthday yesterday with her ma at La Grenouille), Lydia Fenet, Tinsley Mortimer, Coralie Charriol Paul and Elisabeth Saint-Amand. Honorary chair was Elie Saab who came from Paris for the evening. Vice Chair was Ivanka Trump whose jewelry line was one of the evening’s sponsors, along with Elie Saab and Moet et Chandon and Belvedere Vodka. Founding chairmen are Marina Rust Connor, Lauren du Pont, Nathalie Gerschel Kaplan, Martha Loring and Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer. This is the youngest social crowd in New York and The Frick is its ideal venue. 20- and 30- somethings with a few of the ancients (40- somethings) on the fringes. Many have known each other since school or even pre-school. Their parents are often well-known or prominent New Yorkers. This is where New York becomes a kind of small town. Ivanka Trump is a good example, having grown up here, gone to school here and now grown up, a businesswoman and socially prominent. This is a black tie affair so there is the decided aesthetic of the excellent uniform that somehow compliments whoever wears it. And the girls dress. Long dresses, style, fashion, the designers’ dreams all come true last night at The Frick. We’ll run lots and lots of pics from it next week.

The Museum of the City of New York’s dinner dance on Wednesday night is now, along with The Frick Collection’s black tie evenings, one of the more glamorous annual galas in New York. It is not new but what is sort of new is that the group which stages this every year, was originally the “junior” group – sons and daughters of socially prominent folk, as well as the newcomers who wish/wanted to be a part of this group. The difference is they are not “juniors” anymore. They are forty- and fifty-somethings (with the younger set eager to be associated with them for a variety of reasons all of which could be described as New York socio-economic). I arrived after the main course had been finished. I’d been down at the Café Carlyle seeing Barbara Cook give one of her great New York lustrous cabaret concerts. The party had been going for a couple of hours and the energy had moved into a comfortable camaraderie. So I just decided to tour the place with my digital and show you what I looks like when everyone’s feeling quite happy to be there.

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