Lady Spencer-Churchill pays Newport a royal visit

She jetted into town Monday and took Newport-Mesa by storm. Lady

Henrietta Spencer-Churchill, the grandniece of the legendary Winston

Churchill, arrived in Newport after a brief stay at The Canyon Ranch

in Tucson, Ariz., en route from London. She addressed the Decorative

Arts Society and returned home on a whirlwind American jaunt.

The tall and stunning brunet was the debut speaker at the

Decorative Arts Society event benefiting New Directions for Women.

Antique dealer and designer Tom Stansbury opened his Production Way

studio, known as Tom Stansbury’s Next Notch, for a sunset cocktail

reception to welcome Lady Henrietta.

Stansbury created magic by turning his driveway into a French

garden using a bit of plywood, lattice and garden ornamentation to

create an indoor/outdoor space adjacent to his antique-filled

showroom, which was the setting for some 200 supporters of New

Directions for Women.

The elegant Lady Henrietta, 30-something with a British pedigree

that would impress even the most snobbish person concerned with

dignified lineage, graciously greeted the crowd directly and simply,

putting out her hand and saying, “How do you do? I’m Henrietta.”

She is an expert and historian on the subject of classic English

decorating. Lady Henrietta also has her own business in England,

known as Woodstock Designs, well known to the trade. The Newport-Mesa

crowd welcomed her with gusto, supporting the hostess of the evening,

Sandra Ayres of the Newport Heights.

The very chic and saucy Marian Palley was in the crowd with

financier husband Roger Palley. Mary Mano joined Mary Anna Jeppe with

husband Arthur, Meredith Foreman, Elana Donovan, Joan Sammis and the

petite Pamela Nestande, all Decorative Arts Society patronesses and

their husbands, who had come to meet the eldest daughter of the 11th

Duke of Marlborough.

Lady Henrietta’s family home is known as Blenheim Palace. She

studied fine art in both Florence and Paris, completing her education

at the Inchbald School of Design in London. Today, in addition to

taking design commissions worldwide, she has also created her own

line of wallpaper and fabrics.

Spotted in the crowd were local design talents Jackie Jeffries and

Phil Spellman. New Directions for Women is a 25-year-old community

program dedicated to the rehabilitation of alcohol-addicted and

chemically-dependent women. The Decorative Arts Society will sponsor

an additional four lectures from renowned designers this social

season. For more information, call Elana Donovan at (949) 721.0874.

SCR LIGHTED UP THE NIGHT

South Coast Repertory Theatre set out to “Light The Night”

Saturday evening with a formal gala officially inaugurating the

incredible new theatrical complex created at a $19-million cost for

the benefit of Orange County audiences. “Light the Night” they did,

as more than 300 handsome patrons of the theatrical arts arrived at

the landmark complex redesigned under the hand of internationally

acclaimed architect Cesar Pelli.

Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were served al fresco as the sounds

of an orchestra drifted in and out of cocktail conversation. Praise

for the new facility was effusive, as guests were impressed and

inspired by the sleek lines of the glass and steel facade of the

expanded house, which now includes the Segerstrom Stage, the Julianne

Argyros Stage and the Nicholas Studio.

The evening was chaired by Sue Stern with assistance from a gala

committee that included some of the most stylish and dedicated women

on the Orange Coast. A few deserving mention are Mary Buckingham,

Barbara Glabman, Dee Higby, Olivia Johnson, Caroline Jones, Donna

Phelps, Nancy Wall and Elaine Weinberg.

In the party crowd, fabulous local contemporary art dealer Judy

Slutzky was looking spectacular in a slinky gray silk evening gown

adorned with a diamond deco brooch. She joined her prominent

scientist/businessman husband Joel Slutzky mingling with friends.

Following the outdoor reception and tour of the new stages were

brief remarks by Tim Weiss, president of the SCR board of trustees;

David Emmes and Martin Benson, co-artistic directors and founders of

SCR; and Paul Folino, spectacular donor and underwriter, who

presented the theater with a $10-million grant and has had the

complex named in his honor for his generosity. They preceded a

magical dinner presentation in the Westin South Coast Plaza Ballroom.

Honored guests included the beautiful Elizabeth Segerstrom and her

retail baron husband Henry Segerstrom; Julianne Argyros, the wife of

the United States Ambassador to Spain, George Argyros; Daranne and

Paul Folino, who is also chairman of the board of the Orange County

Performing Arts Center; Marsha and Darrel Anderson; Marlene and Sam

Hamontree; Billur Wallerich; Dorothy and Don Kennedy; Bette and Wylie

Aitken; Brian and Sadie Finnegan; Sue and Ralph Stern; Barbara and

William Roberts; Bob and Kathy Haskell; Nancy and George Wall; and

Elaine and Martin Weinberg

The crowd gasped as they entered the Westin Ballroom, transformed

into a corner of heaven with flowing white chiffon gauze draped over

walls and ceilings. The dinner was created by celebrity chef Joachim

Splichal, with wines provided by Robert Mondavi. Also in the crowd

were Mark and Barbara Johnson, Roger and Gail Kirwan, Twyla and

Charles Martin, Erica Shapiro and Fred Taylor, Joann Leatherby and

Greg Bates, and Linda and John Kensey.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.