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The
Kennedy Center at night.
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Meanwhile
in Washington, D.C., the bright lights of Broadway were
transplanted to the nation’s capital for the 13th annual
Kennedy Center Gala.
Normally the realm of Washington society ladies, this year’s
gala – “A Salute to the 1940s Broadway Musical” was
co-chaired by two local bachelors instead. James V. Kimsey,
founding CEO and Chairman Emeritus of AOL, and financier Joseph
E. Robert Jr. handled everything – including choosing
the flowers, china, tablecloths and even the menu.
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Julie
Andrews
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The ladies found this amusing but had to admit the gents did a
superb job as 1500 guests attended, and the center raised funds
to the tune of $2.8 million plus, which was music to the ears of
Gala honorary chair, Julie Andrews.
President Michael
M. Kaiser greeted guests as they arrived, then everybody
proceeded backstage for cocktails and hors d’ouevres
along with a firsthand glimpse of the magnitude of the space behind
the curtains.
Hobnobbing on stage were plenty of power brokers and politicos
including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld with wife Joyce; former
Secretary of State Colin Powell and his wife Alma, who is a board
member; White House Chief of Staff Andy Card with wife Kathleene,
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove with wife Darby;
General Peter Pace, Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley and husband and board member,
Smith Bagley; Senator John Warner with his wife Jeanne; Queen
Noor of Jordan, former Chief of Protocol Lucky
Roosevelt; Buffy and Bill Cafritz, Stuart and Ann Stock,
who was social secretary for former President Clinton;
Susan Bennett, Nancy and George O’Sullivan,
ex-officio Board Member Senator Ted Kennedy; board member Jean
Kennedy Smith and National Archives Board member Diane
Wolf who
remarked, “In Washington this is the closest thing we have
to Hollywood glamour.”
New York presidential-appointed board members at the gala were
former State Senator Roy Goodman, investment advisor George
Farias,
Alexander Treadwell and Brenda Johnson,
a strong supporter of President Bush who expressed, “I’ve
served on many boards but this has been the greatest experience,
the leadership is inspirational,
the greatest privilege of my life ... the one I love most.”
Dinner was served in the grand halls, which were a candlelit sea
of lavender skirted tables and flowers. The guests dined on Foie
Gras Truffle and Asparagus Salad, Medallion of Beef Tenderloin
and Cherries Jubilee. Remember girls, this is what men like. |
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| Clockwise
from left: Stephen and Christine
Schwarzman; Michael Kaiser and
Mary Ourisman; Joyce and Donald
Rumsfeld; Karl Rove, Richard and
Betsy DeVos, and Darby Rove. |
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One
of the most humorous sideshows was a table full of Washington insiders
including the former Speaker of the House Newt
Gingrich and his wife Calista, Kennedy
Center Life Trustee Kenneth Duberstein, Chief
of Staff under President Ronald Reagan, and
his wife Jackie who is a producer with Charlie Rose; Washington
Post journalist Roxanne Roberts; Barry and Tracey
Mansaur from
Chicago, and Mandy and Mary Ourisman.
Mary, a recent presidential-appointed board member, just finished chairing a
marathon 3-day Smithsonian event that began at the White House and ended with
a black tie dinner at the new National Museum of the American Indian.
“Off the record” comments dominated the conversation, but one “on
the record” remark that can be shared was “I came because it’s
Sunday and I’ve already watched “Desperate Housewives,” from
a chuckling Newt. Do you think Laura Bush got the idea for her
speech from him?
After dinner, the guests filed into the Concert Hall. One could not help but
observe the charming side of Defense Secretary Rumsfeld as he chatted with board
member and actress Bo Derek. One can only imagine what they
discussed.
New York’s own Stephen Schwarzman, (CEO of the Blackstone
Group) welcomed the crowd for the first time in his new role as Chairman of the
Kennedy Center. Of course his wife Christine Schwarzman applauded
with the rest.
When asked how he finds the time to be so involved, Steve acknowledged it wasn’t
easy. “Since taking this position, this is the first time I’ve had
trouble returning all my phone calls in one day.”
Another New Yorker, Marvin Hamlisch was the conductor for the
National Symphony Orchestra Pops on this evening. “Marvin has been so wonderful
... making such an impact here by dedicating himself to our national performing
arts center,” commented Washington lobbyist Nini Ferguson.
The star-studded entertainment included Broadway headliners like Elaine
Stritch who burlesqued her way through “There’s Nothing
Like a Dame.” Dana Reeve (wife of the late Christopher
Reeve) gave a beautiful rendition of “Some Enchanted Evening.” Irish
tenor John McDermott lilted the lyrical “How Are Things
In Glocca Morra?” Clarinetist Richard Stoltzman played
selections from Pal Joey; Brian Stokes Mitchell performed “Soliloquy” from
Carousel. Barbara Cook sang “Wonderful Guy,” and
opera star Frederica von Stade accompanied by the Washington
Chorus sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” The tears flowed and
the finale was the Irving Berlin classic “God Bless America.”
Dancing followed on the roof terrace where the guests had the undisputed best
view of our national monuments illuminated by spotlights and moonbeams, capping
off a most glamorous, entertaining and enchanted evening in our nation’s
capitol.
— Jeanne Lawrence for NYSD |
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Mitchell
Hankin, Diane Wolf, and Jack and Annette Friedland
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General
Michael Hagee and Senator John Warner
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Jeanne
Lawrence with Mandy and Mary Ourisman
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Senator
Ted Kennedy and Jean Kennedy Smith
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Brenda
and Howard Johnson
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Former
Senator and Mrs. Roy Goodman
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John
McDermott, Joe Roberts, and Brian Stokes Mitchell
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Elizabeth
Bagley, Julie Andrews, and Smith Bagley
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Buffy
Cafritz and George Farias
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Newt
and Calista Gingrich
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Sydney
McNiff Ferguson
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L.
to r.: Bo Derek and Susan Bennett with friends;
Ken and Jackie Duberstein.
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L.
to r.: Jeffrey Trandahl, Kathleene and Andrew Card,
and Diane Wolf;
William Cafritz and Terre Blair Hamlisch.
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| Clockwise
from left: Elaine
Stritch burlesquing her way through “There’s
Nothing
Like a Dame”; Frederica von Stade and Brian Stokes Mitchell; Songstress
Barbara Cook; Dana Reeve. |
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L.
to r.: Tap
Dancing Finale; Christine
and Stephen Schwarzman.
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Forget everything you thought you knew about the
Brangelina affair. We will bring you the real story of Brad
Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
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Angelina
and Brad
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Some
time ago Angelina visited the UK where she went to the West End’s New Ambassador’s
Theatre to see Jonny
Lee Miller,
her ex-husband, in Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me.
The once-wed couple then shared a romantic dinner at the Ivy, one
of London’s
poshest eateries. Well, it seems that “Mrs. Smith” now
has someone on her mind other than “Mr. Smith.” The
preopening buzz about Mr. and Mrs. Smith was not the kind that
instills confidence …in the studio, in the stars, in the
producers, in the theatre owners. With Angie and Brad’s problematical
movie opening big: $51 million, in fact, it appears to have been
helped by the stars’ supercharged “affair.”
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Jonny
Lee Miller
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That’s right. Angelina and Brad are not a couple. It’s
Jonny Lee Miller that’s re-captured her heart. She recently
flew to Blighty a second time where the two of them joined by Jude
Law, took in a performance of As You Like It,
in which Sienna
Miller appears as “Celia.” Sienna
has received rave reviews from London’s frosty theatre critics.
Sienna and Jude Law, as you must know by now, are a couple. And
on this particular night, Sienna received four curtain calls with
Jude going on stage to present her with a bower of pink peonies.
Further, we hear that Jude Law has partnered with Jonny Lee Miller and Ewan
McGregor in the formation of a production company, Natural
Nylon, and their first project will be a film for the two couples – Jude
and Sienna and Angelina and Jonny Lee. (Remember we’re only
reporting what we’ve heard.)
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Jude
and Sienna
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Does
this mean that Jolie and Miller are stoking the embers of a past
passion, hoping to ignite them again? Angelina once said, “Divorcing
Jonny was probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.”
The busy beauty spent only a rushed 72 hours in London, but they
were packed full of fun things she did with Jonny Lee and Jude
and Sienna. Like dinner at the Law-Miller home where Angelina and
Sienna prepared pasta primavera for their main men.
Entertaining at home assured their avoidance of the paparazzi which
somehow got wind of Jolie’s quickie visit. We’re not
sure we buy the conjecture of one friend of the two couples, who
says that Angelina and Jonny are altar-bound. But we do believe
they are back in a serious relationship.
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Ewan
McGregor
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On Day Two of Angelina’s trip, she and Jonny
accompanied her son Maddox to an outing at a park
near Jolie’s London
home. They were joined there by Jude and Sienna and Jude’s
three children, Rafferty, Iris and Ruby,
where they enjoyed a picnic lunch that Angelina had prepared and
packed ahead of time. Sienna
brought chocolate-chip cookies and cupcakes which she’d baked
at home.
Before she headed back to the USA, Angelina and Jonny caught the
West End revival of Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly Theatre
in which Ewan McGregor is appearing as “Sky Masterson.” Jane
Krakowski of Ally McBeal appears as “Adelaide.” Despite
a few critics carping about the quality of McGregor’s singing
voice, the show is an unqualified hit.
— Robert and Richard DuPont
From Hollywood for NYSD |
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