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Written By Duane Wells
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Category: | Daily News | Entertainment | Travel |
Madonna rules Manhattan down; Jenifer Lewis returns to Broadway and gets a boost from none other than Divine Miss M herself; Radio City Music Hall hosts the ultimate soul diva showdown; Pamela Anderson hits Washington D.C. for dinner with Colin Powell and Mitt Romney; and Ricky Martin pays a big price for his privacy. Hmmm….
New York
What a divalicious time it has been in the Big Apple!
Here a diva, there a diva, in every corner of Manhattan you look a diva.
A little over a week ago, the always hilarious and seriously underrated Jenifer Lewis took over the role of Motormouth Maybelle in the long-running Broadway musical Hairspray and, by all accounts, she stole the show. In the audience on opening night cheering Lewis on was none other than her long-time friend Bette Midler, who she once backed up in performances at gay bathhouses across NYC as one of the Divine Miss M’s famed Harlettes.
I guess it just goes to show that some friendships in Hollywood are indeed lasting. Speaking of lasting power…
 On Wednesday night, Madonna took Manhattan by storm with a free promotional concert at the Roseland Ballroom in support of her new album, Hard Candy, which many are quite rightfully calling her best album in years.
Dressed in head-to-toe Dolce & Gabbana, Madge dazzled a capacity crowd of fans that included fashionistas like Domenico Dolce, Zac Posen, Donna Karan, Narciso Rodriguez, Tory Burch, and Proenza Schouler's Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough, as well as her celebrity pals like Rosie O’Donnell, Michael Stipe and Harvey Weinstein, all of whom gathered to pay homage to the newly inducted member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
During the show, Madonna’s new pal and duet partner Justin Timberlake made a special appearance, joining the pop superstar to perform their chart-topping song “4 Minutes.”
Still feeling in high spirits, Madge reportedly made a beeline over to swish nightspot The Box after the show for photographer Steven Klein’s big birthday bash. Could there be a bigger surprise guest at a party than Madonna? One can hardly imagine.
Now that sounds like one fete that was not to be missed!
Rounding out the diva news from Manhattan, musical legends Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Diana Ross, and Patti LaBelle reportedly shot a spread for the high fashion glossy mag V over the weekend.
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All four ladies were in town on Sunday for a benefit concert called Divas With Heart at Radio City Music Hall, the rafters of which are probably still settling back into place today after haven been shaken to the core by all that collective diva magic. How fierce?
Elsewhere in New York last week, fashion house Chanel took over Robert De Niro’s brand spanking new eatery Ago for its third-annual dinner celebrating the Tribeca Film Festival Artist Program and, needless to say, the city’s glitterati turned out in force. Ed Burns and Christy Turlington were there. As were Gossip Girl Blake Lively, Natasha Richardson, supermodel Liya Kebeda and Zoe Kravitz (daughter of Lenny). Oh the power of couture.
Meanwhile yet another fashionable evening was had by well-heeled New Yorkers fortunate enough to attend the Parsons The New School's 60th annual benefit and fashion show on Monday night where CNN anchor Anderson Cooper presented Diane von Furstenberg with one of the evening’s big awards before a crowd of fashion powerhouses with names like Anna Wintour and Andre Leon Talley. How very, very chic…
Washington, D.C.
 The A-list set up camp on the banks of the Potomac River last weekend for the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner which was hosted this year by late night talk show host and new U.S. citizen Craig Ferguson.
Historically the much ballyhooed black-tie gala has brought together the biggest names from the worlds of entertainment and politics and this year was no exception. Rupert Everett showed up with good friend Donatella Versace on his arm to mix it up with the likes of former republican presidential contender Mitt Romney, Colin Powell and CIA director Michael Hayden at this year’s jovial gathering.
The event was also attended by Martha Stewart, Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, Pamela Anderson, Rob Lowe, Perez Hilton, Lauren Conrad, Marcia Cross, Ashlee Simpson, Rosario Dawson and so many others. Of course, President George W. Bush was also on hand to take his final ribbing as commander-in-chief.
Adopting the self-deprecating tone for which he has become famous during his two terms in office, President Bush reportedly joked about his post-White House prospects when he addressed the audience.
"After he left office, Al Gore won an Oscar and a Nobel Peace Prize," he said . "I would be lucky with Publishers Clearing House!"
Glad to see he’s keeping his sense of humor.
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Following the gala, a Bloomberg afterparty at the Costa Rican Embassy was attended by a cadre of A-listers like Eric Dane, Aaron Eckhart, The Jonas Brothers, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt. N
ot exactly what you’d call a traditional political evening in our nation’s capitol.
Los Angeles
Fashion…celebrity…charity…go!
 The Saks men's store in Beverly Hills was the place to be on last Tuesday night. The swank retail outpost played host to the kick-off shopping party leading up to the seventh annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball scheduled to be held on May 31.
Joining Butterfly Ball co-chair Rebecca Gayheart at the soiree was her hubby Eric Dane, Dean Cain and Jason Lewis who took comfort for most of the evening in the store’s Dolce & Gabbana mini boutique. Hmmm…
On the subject of things that make you go Hmmm…
Rio de Janeiro
Looks like Latin superstar Ricky Martin has snatched up a new place to shake his bon-bon.
According to Mexican newspaper El Universal, Martin has just purchased an island of his own just off the coast of Rio de Janeiro for somewhere in the neighborhood of $8 million. Would it were that we could all afford that degree of privacy eh?
On that note…
That’s another glam wrap! Until next time…Cheers!
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