HONOR SOCIETY I’m glad I brought my mom with me. Isn’t it an aging homosexual’s duty to bring his aging mother with him to the big events of his life? Except I didn’t know it was going to be one of the big events of my life. It was Zach’s 75th anniversary celebration, certainly a big event for the theatre and its many supporters … and all of Austin, too, for that matter. The requisite cocktail party was requisitely sparkling, and the requisite dinner was requisitely both moving and amusing, complete with a mayoral proclamation. The theatre honored five of its major supporters – Marla Bommarito-Crouch, the Dell Foundation, Bill Dickson, Tom Terkel, and the honorable Mayor Will Wynn – and acknowledged no less than four former Zach managing directors in attendance, including Anne DeBois,vwho ran the theatre when I arrived there in 1975. (I missed seeing Bob Swain there; he was a family friend who was artistic director at Zach at the same time.) What was not requisite about this affair was a kickass concert of 20 years of Zach musical highlights, under the direction of current Artistic Director Dave Steakley, that showcased some of Austin’s most brilliant vocal talents. Songs could be dedicated by members of the audience, and I was having the best time singing to myself and clapping along, enchanted by a deep sense of purpose and accomplishment coupled with dazzling talent and joie de vivre in the room – the same room in which I made my design debut (and acting debut) well over 30 years ago. I can trace my current position back to Zach, where I learned to design and sew. I designed costumes but shortly segued into fashion and spent decades in it. It was my knowledge of fashion that I wrote about for this very newspaper before I debuted my column more than nine years ago. I owe Zach a lot, and I felt pretty damn privileged to be at its 75th celebration. I was having such a good time listening to emcee Martin Burke that when he announced that John Pointer was going to perform “Superstar” from Steakley’s momentous production of Jesus Christ Superstar, I squealed, “Oohh, I love him,” and Martin says from the stage, “That’s good, because this one’s for you!” He read off a seemingly endless list of names of people so dear to me who had all dedicated the song to me, and I made a fool of myself crying. My mom kept nudging me to look up at the stage, but I couldn’t see a thing through the tears. For me, I felt like I received an Academy Award. For Zach, it was a magnificent milestone in its fabulous history. There’s no question about it – Zach makes Austin better.
STAR STRUCK Recent star-sightings had Claire Danes with her boyfriend Hugh Dancy in Heritage Boot. Danes purchased two pairs of boots for herself, including a pair of Vaquero Rojos from Heritage’s Rancho Deluxe collection. Promising to wear the boots that night for dancing at the Broken Spoke, Claire loved the store and vowed to return… At Blackmail, the short figure with the very familiar face puzzled the staff, until they realized that the unforgettable face belonged to Brady Bunch actress Maureen McCormick, who was in town for her booksigning. Before departing for her appearance at the Alamo Ritz, Marcia Marcia Marcia tried on Malissa Long‘s dress from Blackmail’s Little Black Dress contest.
This article appears in November 7 • 2008.