Great Show, but That Quake . . .

The Scene: The postponed opening of “Fool Moon” on Monday night at the Doolittle Theatre. The Bill Irwin/David Shiner show that features the Red Clay Ramblers was scheduled to have its L.A. premiere last week, but . . . well, we all know what happened. Although part of the Doolittle’s balcony was still closed for repairs (it’s supposed to be finished this week), the show went off without a hitch and rain didn’t keep away a gaggle of celebs, some of whom dashed over to the Columbia Bar & Grill afterward for a party.

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The Buzz: The earthquake. The show. Damage from the earthquake. How great the show was. Will we have another earthquake? The show was wonderful. How about that earthquake?

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Who Was There: Showing up for “Fool Moon” were Richard Thomas (with son Richard Jr.), John Ritter, Rene Auberjonois, David Steinberg, John Glover, Blythe Danner and Helen Slater; spotted also at the party were Garry Marshall, Joanne Worley, Bruce Davison and Lisa Pelikan, Michael Feinstein and Jack Carter.

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Dress Mode: Several men decided to sport the professorial schlump look (worn, droopy houndstooth jacket with ill-fitting brown pants and scuffed bucks), while others opted for the total black-out ensemble. Some women were still riding the velvet-frock-coat wave, and one young woman wore a cropped top that displayed her navel. A man at the party was spotted in a red jacket, which guaranteed that at some point someone would mistake him for the parking valet.

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Chow: Knowing that the masses would be hungry, the restaurant set out pizzas, stuffed mushrooms, beef on skewers and egg rolls. Desserts included fruit and fudge. Some guests ate as if they were preparing for the next quake.

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The Show Must Go On, Part I: “The first (preview) show we did last week, I’ve never done a show like that in my life,” Shiner said. “Everybody was just on edge--the actors, the musicians, the audience. To think about doing a premiere after a major earthquake is unthinkable. I never thought in my career that that would be something to overcome.”

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The Show Must Go On, Part II: “I had an incident like this once before,” co-producer Jim Freydberg said. “We lost a show, ‘Burn This,’ to the San Francisco earthquake (in 1989). But my initial feeling was, when it all happened, that this is the perfect show for people who have just been through this.”

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Overheard: “You’d better move your car if you’re parked in Gower Gulch,” someone warned Irwin, who had parked his car in the shopping center across the street. “They will tow you. Once they even towed (producer) Jimmy Doolittle’s car.”

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Parting Shot: A woman on her way out of the party stopped at the maitre d’s station, grabbed a fistful of mints and jammed them into her purse.