Something New Coming Out of Africa

The Scene: Tuesday night at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, at a private invitational screening of “Sarafina!,” a musical drama about South Africa. The outdoor party was hosted by Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg, star Whoopi Goldberg and Miramax Films. An East Coast invitational screening and party took place Monday night at the 21 club in Manhattan. (What’s the difference between a regular premiere and a special invitational screening and party? Don’t ask us.)

The Buzz: Advance word on “Sarafina!” had been mixed. One television critic gave it a big thumbs down, calling it “The South African version of ‘Newsies,’ ” but most of the guests seemed to have good words for the movie beyond the usual premiere mix of lip service and happy talk. (“Sarafina!” opens in L.A. and New York on Friday.)

Who Was There: Cast members Goldberg, Leleti Khumalo and Mbongeni Ngema joined actor friends Timothy Dalton, Teri Garr, Charles S. Dutton, Harry Hamlin and Dionne Warwick.

Dress Code: Very casual. Some of the cast wore African dress, but Goldberg wore her usual jacket, blouse, slacks and tennis shoes.

The Cultural Elite Strikes Back: One man wore a T-shirt listing “The Top 10 Reasons Not to Vote for Bush.” Reasons 1 through 9 were jobs; reason No. 10 was Dan Quayle. Ouch.

Chow: Sausages, hot wings, focaccia, hummus and tabbouleh, consumed to a sound track of South African music.

Favors: Guests got a copy of the sound track on their way out.

Quoted: Asked what she thought of the Republican convention, Goldberg said, “I didn’t watch any of it. There was nothing I needed to hear.” Her eponymous late-night talk show had debuted the night before to good ratings, but Goldberg said that both Pat Buchanan and David Duke had declined her invitation to appear. Why? “Who the hell knows,” she shrugged.

Noted: Nice to see that Disney and Goldberg patched up the well-publicized differences that took place during the filming of her last picture, “Sister Act.” (Reportedly, Goldberg buried the hatchet with Katzenberg by sending him a real hatchet, and he returned the favor by presenting her with a pair of--um, well--brass orbs.)

Triumphs: Charles Dutton, star of the sitcom “Roc,” called the movie “the most important film of the year.” He should know; while in New York, by his own estimation he saw the Broadway version 32 times.

Glitches: Despite Goldberg’s best efforts to get other cast members in front of the cameras and the microphones, the press virtually ignored them in favor of getting the latest Whoopi-isms.