Black Tie & Tales

+ Birds of a feather will flock together
Would you have believed Pat and Bob Baer if they told you they didn’t coordinate their outfits for Asolo’s Starry Night Dinner Series highlighting “Hamlet, Prince of Cuba?”

Pat bought her blouse on Main Street and wore it to her son and daughter-in-law’s rehearsal dinner in 2009, at the Carnivale restaurant, in Chicago. Bob just happened to pluck this Coogi sweater from his closet — a gift from his wife years ago when the two went to see a comedy show at Comedy Castle, in Los Angeles.

“Nonsmoking was right by the stage, so we sat up front,” Pat said. “He got picked on for that sweater by the first comedian, and everybody else who came on after that picked on him. When we left, all other patrons kept saying ‘Goodnight Bob.”

+ Real men don’t cut ribbon ...
They saw 2-by-4s — and that’s exactly what Asolo Rep Production Manager Victor Meyrich did to officially dedicate the theater’s Robert & Beverly Koski Production Center. Meyrich is a bit of a legend in the theater world; young designers are afraid of him but end up loving him for making their ideas work. He reminisced about his early days when the Asolo scene shop was only 10,000 square feet and “we built the sets sideways because we didn’t have room to stand them up.” There’s room now! See more about the new facility in Scene & Heard, page 3.

+ Join the rank of fairy godmother
As if you need an excuse to visit Saks Fifth Avenue ... but here's the best one yet. Show your support for high school Cinderellas by freeing your closet of black-tie ball gowns, shoes, purses and jewelry and donating them to the Cinderella Project, which enables high school girls to pick the perfect prom dress.
Drop your donations off before March 1, at Lotus, 1451 Main St.; L. Boutique, 556 S. Pineapple Ave.; Louis Custom Tailor, 1638 Main St.; or Sarasota Brides & Formalwear, 4051 Clark Road. Call Judy Alexander at 376-2663.

+ Stylin’ standouts at the Van Wezel
Tim Cameresi and Jennie Famiglio were two standouts at Van Wezel’s 35th Anniversary Gala Saturday night. Tim pinned a modern silver and quite prickly looking Dream Weaver brooch on his suit jacket that, if it were larger, would look fabulous hanging in a museum or home. Jennie, looking radiant in a multicolored dress with a slightly eye-deceiving pattern and tattered bottom layers, took the not-so-“extra” material that her children accidentally ripped off and turned it into a floral-like ornament for her violet necklace.

+ Tidbits
Congratulations are in order ... to two newly engaged couples: Danny Watts and Fondren Griffin; and Drayton Saunders and Kara Poulin ... Shout out … to James Harries at the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, who went and fetched BT’s backup camera from her car after her memory card No. 1 filled up with too many dancing photos even before dinner started at the Corinthian Gala Saturday … Also at the Corinthian Gala … Eliza and Hugh Culverhouse and the Burruss Foundation Trust each pledged $75,000 to the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation, the event’s beneficiary, to benefit the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. They issued a challenge to guests during the gala to match their gift by raising an additional $75,000 ... Generous heart ... Local philanthropist Bea Friedman has donated $100,000 to All Faiths Food Bank’s Capital Campaign. The contribution, which will support the food bank’s new building, was recently announced by Joan Paru, All Faith’s director of major gifts, and Rabbi Brenner Glickman, capital campaign chairman.

+ BLACK TIE AFFAIR
Senior Friendship Center “You Bet Your Life … and Then Some”
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 13
Tickets: $150 individual; $500 and up patrons. Call: 556-3205

This event bills itself as a “Madcap Evening,” and it more than lives up to the name, with a wonderful combination of Groucho Marx-style wacky moments, wonderful food and first-rate entertainment. This year’s wackiness, of course, includes, “Say the magic word and win $100” — the famous duck from Groucho’s TV show. It appears as origami, a henna tattoo option and a photo prop during the cocktail hour and an entrée choice during dinner. On the serious side: an opera interlude by Sarasota Opera singers. And more … as the title says. All brought to you by Chairman Harold Ronson and honorary Co-Chairs Gerri Aaron and Marvin Albert and Victoria and Harry Leopold to benefit the Senior Friendship Centers, a vital organization that enhances quality of life for 20,000 older adults annually. This party sold-out last year and is a great value for the $150 ticket, so best call to reserve soon.