Double the Pleasure, Double Fun

In a never-before September gala war, the Orange County society season was launched on Saturday when two major charity benefits were held on the same night.

About 450 supporters of South Coast Repertory theater gathered for an al fresco reception at Town Center Park in Costa Mesa before proceeding into the Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel for “Viva Teatro!” a black-tie fest that raised $125,000.

At the same time, 350 boosters of the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana gathered in the museum for the premiere of the facility’s new art exhibits--”Easels in the Arroyos” and “Partners in Illusion: William and Alberta McCloskey”--before sweeping into the tree-studded Noble courtyard for a black-tie dinner under the stars that raised $100,000.

Talk about wanting to be two places at once. “It breaks my heart to be in competition with SCR on the same night,” said Sharon Esterley, chairwoman of the museum’s annual “La Fiesta” fund-raiser. “I love being here, but I would love to be at the SCR gala too. It would have been nice to have had them on separate nights so people could attend both. They are both wonderful events.”

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The problem arose when SCR’s gala organizers were unable to book their event at the Westin for Sept. 17 and moved it to the Saturday after Labor Day, the gala spot favored by the Bowers Museum for the past two years.

“The Bowers event wasn’t listed when we checked the (social) calendar, and we didn’t know about it until a month afterward that we had scheduled the same date,” said Michele Wankier Edwards, co-chair of the SCR event with her mother, June Wankier. “We thought, ‘Oh no! Same time! Same theme!’ We were afraid, but it worked out. We exceeded our expectations.”

Guests at the SCR gala were entertained by Spanish flamenco and Fiesta Folklorico dancers as they sipped libations in Town Center Park amid tropical foliage and the squawks of exotic birds.

Before proceeding to the Westin for dinner, guests heard the music of Juan Carlos Quintero and watched an Aztec fireball ceremony by Xipe Totec.

Attending their first SCR gala were Charles and Mary Kay Ruck. He serves on the board of SCR’s Supporting Cast, a young professionals’ support group. “I’m a little nervous,” Charles Ruck said. “This gala is all the talk, you know. You walk around town and people say, ‘Oh! You’re going to that!’ We’re looking forward to the whole experience.”

Besides kicking off SCR’s 31st season (“A Streetcar Named Desire,” underwritten by Kaiser Permanente, opened on Friday night) the bash celebrated the theater’s 10-year partnership with the Latino community in the development of its Hispanic playwrights project.

This gala was Latin-flavored down to its beef tenderloin marinated in molassas and its protea and desert-rock centerpieces.

“SCR is a theater for all of the people of Orange County,” said Martin Benson, artistic director for SCR. “We want to draw on all of the energies and excitement and cultures of our community.”

Added David Emmes, producing artistic director for SCR: “The future of our nation depends upon embracing diversity. This is a humble gesture in reinforcement of that.”

Also among guests was Harold Schultz, president of SCR’s board of trustees. “In ‘Streetcar’ Blanche DuBois says, “ ‘I don’t want realism; I want magic,’ ”

Schultz told the ebullient crowd. “For 30 years, Martin Benson and David Emmes have given us a potent mix of both.”

Dressed in a glittering black and white gala gown, Sharon Esterley welcomed guests to the Bowers’ gala, a celebration highlighted by the announcement of plans for a new children’s museum.

“Orange County already has a fabulous children’s museum, in the classical sense, in La Habra,” said Peter Keller, executive director of the Bowers museum. “But we’re going to have a children’s version of the Bowers--a hands-on, interactive museum that will be a window on the world to children.”

Kidseum, housed in the former California Bank building at 18th and Main, will be launched with a Christmas party on Dec. 11.

After touring the art exhibits and listening to the Van Houten Brass Ensemble, guests sat down to a feast--filet mignon and roast chicken topped off by chocolate turtle cake--at tables spread with hand-painted tablecloths.

Each sapphire, ruby and emerald cloth was splashed with an image of gilded fruit. The decorative accent was repeated in the table centerpieces--terra cotta bowls heaped with glitter-frosted oranges and trailing ivy.

“We fashioned our theme after a still-life by Alberta McCloskey,” Esterley said.

Guests danced under a star-hung sky until midnight.

Also among guests were Bowers’ governor Jack Lindquist, honorary gala chairman; Patricia House, the museum’s director of development; and Ruth Seigle, president of the museum’s board of governors.