Hipsters Dive Into Arena

The Scene: Saturday night’s opening of Arena, the latest private club on the Hollywood scene. Held at the site of the Circus Disco on Santa Monica Boulevard, the club is the brainchild of Christian Farrow and Jeffrey Sanker, and the opening night was held with Interview magazine, cementing its hip credentials.

The Buzz: Is Arena the latest thing? Or is it strictly for the Valley crowd? It’s probably a moot point anyway, considering that your average club has all the shelf life of fresh pasta, and none of the nutrition.

Who Was There: By midnight (still early by club standards), the only notables on hand were actress Mary Woronov, Marilyn Monroe impersonator Jimmy James, “Cry Baby” star Kim McGuire, and designer Allee Willis.

Dress Code: Judging from the crowd, the ‘70s aren’t coming back; they’re already here. Among the circa-1976 highlights: Gold lame cutoff shorts, silver lame jackets, clear plastic trousers, bondage gear, hairdos in the shape of bird cages, and tank tops that could have come straight from Fire Island.

Chow: None. This is a club, after all, and any good club-hopper gets all the nourishment he or she needs from alcohol and cigarettes.

Decor: Nothing special, except for the costumed cigarette girls who cruised the crowd, vending cigarettes, cigars and plastic ray guns. Huge blowups of the cover of the current Interview magazine hung over the crowd, with King Kong-sized images of Madonna. Also decorative were a quartet of go-go girls and muscle boys in their underwear, who did the wild thing on a platform over the dance floor.

Triumphs: Lots of overheard conversation. “Did you see that guy?” asked one excited guest. “He was a big producer and I shook his hand!” “I have such fond memories of the East Village.” “I heard that Liz Taylor’s lover’s out in the parking lot!” And best of all: “Would you take our picture? Somebody already did, but it’s going to appear in some Italian magazine and we’ll never see it.”

Glitches: Despite the high ceilings, the muggy weather and crowded conditions kept oxygen at a premium.