HE LOVES L.A.
Randy Newman joins a prestigious group of top tune-makers as the latest inductee into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame.
This year’s award ceremony kicked off with a Moulin Rouge-themed cocktail party featuring flouncy, bouncy, garter-wearing cancan dancers, hi-wire acts and colorful cabaret performers. Guests strolled the Bowl’s upper grounds while sipping Bordeaux and snacking on Left Bank faves like muscles, escargot and croque monsieur.
Following the VIP cocktail bash, guests settled into Bowl boxes decked out in red paper roses and delved into a decadent dinner under the stars.
Newman shared the spotlight with show-tune songbird Bernadette Peters and super-soprano Kathleen Battle. A special award recognizing the musical contributions of the late George Harrison was accepted by pal Eric Idle.
Idle’s speech was pure Monty Python.
“When I heard they were giving George the award,” he mused, “my first thought was, ‘I bet he won’t show up.’ “
The evening of music and merriment ended on a very high note with Peters belting out a Tony-worthy rendition of “Give My Regards to Broadway,” backed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The evening also gave the Phil something to sing about, raising half a million bucks for the orchestra’s Music Matters education program.
SOMETHING ODD
The Geffen Playhouse wrapped up a successful run of Neil Simon’s tale of two mismatched bachelors in “Oscar and Felix, A New Look at The Odd Couple.” The rewrite of Simon’s 1965 comedy is built around the pairing of a poker-playing, cigar-chomping slob of a sports writer and his painfully fastidious friend trying to cohabitate in harmony. Oscar was played by John Larroquette with Joe Regalbuto filling the perfectly polished shoes of Felix.
ODE TO BILLY BOB
Good ol’ boy Billy Bob Thornton will be singing for his supper as the featured performer at this year’s American Heart Awards Gala on July 27. Billy Bob joins highlife-lover Robin Leach and celeb chef Leann Chin for an evening of gourmet grub and rock ‘n’ roll to help raise money for the American Heart Association.
A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC
They’ll be making music of a different kind in Malibu as Young Artists International tunes up for its Laureates Music Festival.
Twenty-five acclaimed artists from 18 countries will take the stage at Calamigos Ranch for a summer concert on July 30. The sunset dinner and classical program features the works of Haydn, Paganini and Piazzolla.