At the White House, the Bushes Practice a Multi-Party System
No one would call George and Laura Bush party animals, but they're not quite as antisocial as they appear. Glitzy black-tie dinners at the White House are few and far between, but a party tomorrow night for Ben Franklin's 300th birthday is one of several small "social dinners" they've quietly hosted over the past year.
Early last year, the first lady hired a new social secretary, Lea Berman , and said she intended to entertain more in the second term. With only four state dinners in the first term, and two "official" black-tie dinners in the second (Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in July, and a royal bash for Prince Charles and Camilla in November), the drums were beating for more of those coveted invites to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
  U.S. President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush leave the East Room after entertainment by singer and pianist Michael Feinstein for the White House's Valentine's Day Social Dinner February 14, 2006. REUTERS/Mike Theiler (Mike Theiler -- Reuters) |
The smaller dinners are less formal or political than the fancy counterparts, with an emphasis on the performing arts; most are held in the Blue Room or State Dining Room with 75 to 130 guests from all over the country. The parties hark back to traditional presidential hospitality and give old and new friends executive bragging rights.
"What was impressive about it was the eclectic crowd," said one guest (who requested anonymity, in hopes of being invited back) at a dinner for retiring Fed chair Alan Greenspan in January. "It wasn't the usual Republican chorus. It made the conversation, particularly during the cocktail hour, much more lively and interesting."
Some of the dinners are themed: Last year's St. Patrick's Day with author Tom Clancy ; Shakespeare's Birthday with writers Vaclav Havel and Tom Wolfe ; September's "President's Cup" with golf legends Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods ; the 40th Anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities with Van Cliburn , and Jamie Wyeth , and last month's Valentine's Day dinner with loverboys Michael Feinstein and Wayne Newton.
"These smaller, more intimate gatherings allow the president and Mrs. Bush to spend quality time with their guests," said spokeswoman Susan Whitson. They have also been, for the most part, closed to press coverage.
The belated birthday party for Franklin (born Jan. 17, 1706) will feature popular 18th-century food. Invited guests include officials from institutions Franklin helped found -- the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Library Company of America, the Franklin Institute, and the University of Pennsylvania -- and several of his prominent biographers.
This Just In . . .
· A nationwide casting call for the movie version of the Broadway hit "Hairspray" (which, yeah, was the musical stage version of John Waters's 1988 movie, so it's full circle) is coming to Baltimore. Producers are looking for a white female to play plus-size teen dance queen Tracy Turnblad, a young African American man to play her pal Seaweed, and a preteen to play Seaweed's sister Li'l Inez. Auditions will be held Saturday, April 1 (no, really!), at the Hippodrome Theatre. Queen Latifah has been signed to play Motormouth Maybelle, while the role of Tracy's mom Edna, first immortalized by drag queen Divine and later by cross-dressing veteran Harvey Fierstein , has been won by John Travolta . Really! If this is the part you were born to play, go to http:/
· Fox News will not host a party after next week's Radio & Television Correspondents Association Dinner, officials gravely announced. The move marks a retreat from the highly competitive after-party arms race Fox helped launch 10 years ago (magicians, bouncers, loud music, anchorwoman-on-the-dance-floor antics). Budget cuts? Hangovers? Not at all, said spokesman Paul Schur : "We feel it's time to let other networks have their day in the sun."
Love, Etc.
· Denying: Both Denzel Washington and Sanaa Lathan are now on the record rebutting rumors they had an affair or that she's carrying his child. Lathan addressed the whispers, which had largely circulated on radio airwaves, in the February issue of Vibe ("It's frustrating," she complained); in the April issue of Essence, Washington gets the question from writer Isabel Wilkerson : "He leans forward as if he's been waiting for this. And then he answers no, looking straight into my eyes." Well, guess that takes care of that!
