Boone Gives It Old Cottage Try in Gatsby Bow to SCR Patrons

In a tribute to F. Scott Fitzgerald and all things Gatsby-esque, Mike Boone of South Laguna threw open the grounds of his Old Ivy Cottage on Saturday for a summer gala honoring patrons of South Coast Repertory.

Greeting guests on the emerald lawn of his lushly landscaped seaside digs--once home to silent film star Ena Gregory--Boone might have passed for Gatsby himself, with his cream-colored linen pants, pinstriped jacket and white buck shoes.

“I love entertaining and I like the Great Gatsby era,” said Boone, 37, owner of the Corona-based Boone International, a manufacturer of dry-erase memo boards that does $50 million a year.

Guests such as SCR founder David Emmes and Barbara Glabman--chairwoman of the September gala celebrating the theater’s 35th season--sipped cocktails and dined on poached salmon under swags of lemon leaves and swaying Chinese lanterns. A jazz quartet entertained.

With his penchant for creative social gatherings, Boone is building a reputation as one of South Orange County’s most stylish party-givers. There’s the black-tie holiday bash--in a tent decorated with pomegranate-laden garlands--he stages every year for pals. “It’s the [Laguna Beach] party,” says a friend. And there’s the popular annual benefit for Laguna Shanti, where Boone shows “Auntie Mame” on a giant screen on his rooftop while guests gather round to watch the flick and sample fine wines and gourmet fare.

On Saturday, Boone celebrated his association with SCR, where he is a member of the board of trustees. “I love SCR--I’ve been going there since I was 3, when my mother dragged me to a play,” he said.

Traditionally the launch of the Orange County social season, SCR’s upcoming gala--themed “35 years . . . Take a Bow!”--is a hot ticket. Of 60 tables to the Sept. 19 affair at the Robert Mondavi Wine & Food Center in Costa Mesa, 56 have been sold. Nearly $500,000 in underwriting has been raised.

“This anniversary will give us the chance to spotlight our accomplishments--not only for the past 35 years, but in recent years as we have developed a national presence,” said Emmes, who founded the theater with Martin Benson.

The next time Boone welcomes SCR supporters to his home, he’ll probably have a new structure on the property. He’s tearing down the quaint cottage. On the drawing board: an 11,000-square-foot French Caribbean-style plantation house.

Perfect for a party.

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High-rent district: Cast members of the controversial rock musical “Rent”--which had its local premiere last week at the Orange County Performing Arts Center--joined with center donors for a taste of Provence at the opening Thursday of chef Joachim Splichal’s new bistro at the Westin South Coast Plaza hotel in Costa Mesa.

Sweeping through the graceful iron doors of the $2.5-million Pinot Provence restaurant, about 200 guests sampled appetizers such as mini-salad Nicoise and eggplant caviar as they

raved--and ranted--about the show.

Cerise Feeley of Newport Beach praised the show’s “energy” and “raw talent” but panned its occasionally seamy lyrics: “The devil’s alive and well in Orange County,” she mused.

Center President Jerry Mandel called the production about a bunch of struggling East Villagers (inspired by Puccini’s “La Boheme”) “an important show.”

“We can’t always play to Iowa. ‘Rent’ has won the Tony and the Pulitzer Prize,” he said. “But we’ll get letters.”

Splichal, owner of the internationally acclaimed Patina restaurant in Los Angeles, mingled with guests, overseeing the parade of gourmet tidbits passed around in the bar area and main room--accented with a voluminous spray of sunflowers.

Also on view: graceful dining chairs upholstered in pale yellow prints, terra cotta pots filled with lavender and old French martini carafes converted into cocktail lamps.

For the past four years, Henry Segerstrom of C.J. Segerstrom & Sons--owners of South Coast Plaza--has been encouraging Splichal to open a restaurant at the retail center.

“It never felt right,” said Splichal, whose early days as a chef were spent in southern France. “But this [a restaurant adjoining the Westin] was an attractive package.”

Foodies take note: Not only can you have wine and olive tastings at this restaurant, you can book a table in the kitchen. For $100 each, guests can “watch the action and dine on whatever the chef wants to cook,” Splichal said.

The chef has yet to dream up his new restaurant’s signature main dishes. For now, food lovers can choose from entrees with a Provencal touch--”fennel, olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes and lots of fish,” he said. “We’re going to bring some of the fish over from the Mediterranean.”

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Sink or swim: At 90, comedian Milton Berle has probably had his share of ship crossings. But along with comic Sid Caesar, Berle has agreed to board “An Evening on the Titanic” on Aug. 22 at the Bloomingdale’s courtyard in Newport Beach. Berle and Caesar will entertain at the gala staged by the Islanders, a Newport Beach fund-raising group. Beneficiary: the Orange County Museum of Art. Ann Stern is chairwoman. Information: (949) 675-8787.