I will call it Scarlett

Hi Everyone!

Attending star-studded opening nights is not a normal thing to do for me, so when a good friend asked me to attend the opening night of Scarlett Johansson’s Broadway debut in Arthur Miller’s The View From The Bridge, I was thrilled (to put it modestly). I’m a huge fan of Scarlett…I mean, who isn’t? To me, she represents classic Hollywood glamour in the 21^st century.

I was fortunate in that I had a full week to prepare myself for, you know, the usual necessities and concerns: getting my dress ready, picking which shoes to wear, deciding on a hair style, selecting jewelry, etc. One thing I did not prepare myself for was how to behave in front of celebrities and press...but more on that later.

Thanks to my hard-working team, my purple, silk-draped dress was ready literally three hours before the curtains rose. Talk about a close call. I strapped on my 6” metallic python Gucci heels, let down my wavy hair, and off I went! Oh, did I mention that since my dress had bias draping in the front, with a side slit, I had to practice at home how to sit down, walk with small steps, and get in and out of a car properly? Yes, this dress may have looked simple, but way too much construction and engineering took place that was not visible to the eye. 

Predictably, in front of the Court Theater, pandemonium broke out. Town cars were bumper to bumper, horns blaring, and photographers were jumping in front of moving cars and people to catch candid shots of the celebs being ushered in.  Of the faces I recognized, I saw Hugh Jackman, Zachary Quinto (that guy from Heroes), Ellen Barkin, and Naomi Watts...and I’m sure there were more, but I guess I just don’t have an eye for spotting celebrities.

Once we made our way through the crowd, I loved our seats.  Front row mezzanine – a completely unobstructed aerial view of the stage.  I took a quick glace at the crowd below and around us to check out the womens’ fashions….unfortunately, I found it quite toned-down and unimpressive.  I guess Broadway calls for dowdy looks?  Well, not I!

Scarlett’s performance alongside Liev Schreiber was superb. They both gave their all and the audience responded with a standing ovation that lasted over 5 minutes.

Our next stop was the much-awaited afterparty at Espace, on all the way on the Westside.  Well, when you have car and driver at your beck and call, east side, west side, it doesn’t matter much (I was having such a blast!).  At the party, fashion and faces were on full display, and, again, while the dress code was pretty unimpressive, I must say that, intellectually speaking, the crowd was quite impressive.  We sat at play-director Gregory Mosher’s table, and chatted with Gillian Sorensen, Assistant Secretary General at the United Nations - and right next to her was her husband, Ted Sorensen, legendary advisor and speech writer to President Kennedy (some say he even writes Obama’s speeches).  Both were very interesting to talk to, but how much politics can people discuss without reaching a point of disagreement…not much, I discovered.  So I quickly turned the conversation to how amazing Scarlett’s performance was, which we all agreed upon.        

A funny thing happened, which I am still thinking about: out of nowhere, a camera crew turns to me and asked if I could say few words about the opening night performance.  Well, I was caught off-guard and kind of gestured that I did not want to speak on camera, but the interviewer insisted I speak for just a few minutes, so I reluctantly did. Honestly, I have no idea what I blurted, but I have the feeling that nothing super-intelligent came out, since I truly was caught off-guard and everyone was staring at me. Once the interview was over, I was glad to move out of the spotlight, and did not even catch which TV station they were from; however, I did keep thinking all night how silly I must have sounded. 

This got me thinking: I am really not used to being in the spotlight. This evening would have been a perfect opportunity to network and “work the room”, as some would say.  After all, I am looking to grow my brand, and what better way than to mingle with celebrities and the like? But, I’ll have you know, I did none of this, and I now sincerely regret it. It is just not like me to put myself so out there, and I’m afraid this could be a short-coming on my part...entrepreneurs must always be ready to sell themselves and their products, as one never knows when an opportunity might present itself. I made the mistake of not being prepared to brand myself to all these glamorous figures, and so I missed out on what could have been some really useful contacts. Oh well, I will call this night my rehearsal night, and the next time I attend an event like this (or any event, really), I will be sure to bring my PR hat. I’m learning the hard way that it’s a hat I must always keep with me, even if I don’t always need to wear it.

Back to that night...out of nowhere, Scarlett unassumingly whisked into the afterparty - all heads turned.  I was standing close enough to see her flawless porcelain skin. Wow, how beautiful she looked with her freshly made-up face, her long-sleeve printed Dolce & Gabbana dress cinched at the waist showing off her characteristic Scarlett curves....

As I watched her greet all her well-wishers, it dawned on me: the purple dress I was wearing would look amazing on her.  So, I immediately sent a text to my assistant asking to have another purple dress made, which I will send to Scarlett with a congratulatory note on her amazing performance. And, in my collection, I will name this purple dress Scarlett.

Aysha