Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2009 > July > 12
Sunday, July 12, 2009
White Party at Green Pastures
We can say this definitively: The White Party is a gilded champion among Austin charity affairs.
Jeff Chen, Mardy Chen
Let’s start with the setting: Green Pastures’ dignified white farmhouse sprouting Great Gatsby tents like mushrooms on its emerald, oak-shaded lawns.
PJ Rabice, Tiffany Craven
Then there’s the crowd, mostly young professionals who uphold Leap, a support group for the Lifeworks charity.
Jennifer Villarreal, Andrew Haynes
Oh my. Is this a comely crowd? All dressed in flattering white. (And variations.)
Garrett Mize, Christina Sheets
All evening, they drifted from open tents — with their simple, gorgeous white flower arrangements — to refreshment stations and the scattered white couches inside and out.
Sonja McDonnell, Susie Santana
The dance floor beckoned with a flashing light screen and expert DJ, as well as tireless go-go dancers. (It must be admitted that the guests took forever to mount this perhaps too intimidating stage. Hosts should have motivated the moves through demonstration. And maybe swept the dance floor with big fans.)
Anna Woods, Peter Bond
The appetizers from Green Pastures’ kitchen were perfection: Actual finger food that packed powerful little bursts of flavor without forcing ungraceful stand-up dining. (Exception: A hummus spread that came with two tiny strands of chips.)
Kelley Davis, Hanh Tran
The Grey Goose signature drinks cooled. As did smart cocktails like icy wine spritzers.
Lisa Magids, Todd O’Neill
The service and hospitality were impeccable. No other party comes close.
Matt Abbott, Patrick Clark, Lauren Clark
The tents, underwritten by folks like Kendra Scott and Nav Sooch, included bottle service, which meant each retreat blossomed into a mini-party with porous borders.
Billy Andrews, Jessica Hellums
The mood remained mellow until the dancing really fired up.
Brent Zaal, Alyson Maxey
I talked with Suzanne Kennedy about her new screenplay and Austin Adams (and his friends) about local, state and national politics.
Jehmu Greene, Andrea Elliott, Morgan Flager
I spent the longest time with Bennett Ford — husband of Tribeza editor Lauren Ford — about a thousand substantive topics.
Nav Sooch, Whitney Casey,
(Critics of this column often assume the chatter at these parties is exceedingly shallow. Not so. Or not always so.)
Lee Anthony, Xitlalt Herrera Salazar, Eliseo Rios
Skipping the after-party at The Belmont, I stayed from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. — probably the longest I’ve spent at a party all year.
Amber Follis, Lee Walker, Katie Jackson
I hope Leap and Lifeworks makes money on this endeavor. I never want it to go away.
Paxton Knight, Cherly Mills
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‘The Doyle & Debbie Show” at the Long Center
“Greater Tuna” star Joe Sears vows it’s the funniest show he’s seen in years.
Jenny Littleton, Bruce Arntson
The taxonomic relationship between Nashville-birthed “The Doyle & Debbie Show,” now at the Long Center, and the Austin-generated “Tuna” series would be obvious to even the untrained eye.
Stan Haas, Joan Plaster
Both weave together sketches about a part of culture rarely satirized effectively on the stage. Love of country music and country life keep the sharply outlined characterizations from darkening into the blackest of humors.
Jaston Williams, Sharon Chapman
D&D is more focused: Only two main characters, one sideman. Doyle is a high-energy country performer of the old school who experienced a mysterious breakdown and has just returned to Nashville with Debbie, his third partner by that stage name, a young mother of three from deepest Tennessee who, despite low self-esteem, brings to the stage a startling talent.
Kathy Hemphill, Farley Hemphill
Both D&D and Tuna depend on the patience of the writers and performers to build scenes from low-drama ignitions. D&D, in fact, takes it very slow, the better to guarantee that the unpredictable climax is literally hair-raising. (A wig is involved. That’s all I’ll say.)
The late Saturday matinee audience lapped it up. We heard from Long Center managing director Paul Beutel that a possible Chicago D&D engagement is in the offing (Austin is only its second city and the Long Center its first theatrical engagement).
Steve Gould, Monica Gould
We also bumped into Sears’ onstage partner, Jaston Williams, in the lobby. He was seeing the show for a second time, in itself an endorsement. Williams has just renovated a mid-century modern house in Lockhart and is working with Sears on script polishes of the third and fourth installments of the “Tuna” quartet.
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Peacock closes, also possibly Pangaea
A big chunk of the Austin lounge scene may disappear soon. Tonight, owners of the Peacock have confirmed that they will be closing the pioneer East Austin lounge. We also hear from reliable sources at that Pangaea — the ultimate ultra-lounge — is also closing this weekend. We’ll confirm when we reach the owners.
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