I was moving so fast in my Manolos making a mad dash from club opening to club opening that I almost twisted my ankle in a parking lot this weekend. I finally gave into comfort – and losing stature, the physical kind – and switched to a pair of Tory Burch Reva ballerina slippers for the remainder of my nocturnal exploits. Bliss! Pure Bliss!

Ana Beatriz Barros, Fernanda Mota, and Alessandra Ambrosio at Stereo by the Shore. Photo by Rob Rich

Before I totally called it a weekend (even ballet slippers will get you only so far), I did get to check out the scene at a few old favorite haunts and some new promising contenders in the nightlife sweepstakes.

As expected, Charles Ferri's Star Room was rocking all weekend with everyone hanging off the rafters as is the custom there. Star attractions there this weekend included Ferri's current squeeze Heather Graham, cute John Bolaris of CBS, and Farnsworth Bentley better know as P Diddy's umbrella toting valet.

Stereo by the Shore brought out the heavy guns with Russia's greatest gift to men since caviar the Anisomova Sisters, Anna and Angelina, with Anna's man Bryan Freedman in tow. Super bad boy Bobby Brown sans ex-wife Whitney Houston, Brittany Gastineau sans her reality co-star mom, dishy gossip scribe Perez Hilton (in REAL Hilton country no less and without a bodyguard), local naughty girl Samantha Cole, the always adorable and charming Jonathan Cheban plus hordes of international beauties such as Fernanda Mota and Anna Beatriz Barrios made their way into the club this weekend. The models best pal, Victoria Secret catwalker Alessandra Ambrosio, tossed the pair a birthday party complete with a cake that had their lissome images on it.

Bad boy Bobby Brown and Alicia Ethridge at Stereo by the Shore. Photo by Rob Rich

Lowering the decibel a level or two or four, we dropped by the birthday party for Tatiana Platt. The exotic and impossibly tall (and not having problems with her Manolos) wife of architect Campion Platt partied at Alison's in Bridgehampton. The fete brought out Gin Lane types like Jonathan and Somers White Farkas, beleaguered Page Six editor Richard Johnson, Bettina Zhilka, and lots more swells.

Needless to say our little bit of club hopping was not without reward in getting some dish and I don't mean pasta. Isn't it funny how folks will chatter on about the most amazing range of topics? Another pal from CBS told us that Southampton's Don Hewitt, creator of 60 Minutes who grudgingly retired this year, will make himself highly visible in primetime once again, if only for one night. Get this, the television special will be for his longtime competitors NBC. Hewitt has unbelievably secured the rights for a one hour High Definition special of "The Radio City Christmas Spectacular," featuring the Rockettes, Santa Claus, and a parade of wooden soldiers. The iconic holiday extravaganza will be shown almost in its entirety in a prime-time special on NBC in early December, in what Radio City and the network said was the first such broadcast in the show's 75-year history. Don said ever since leaving his powerful post at 60 Minutes he had been searching for "an icon" of similar stature that might return him to prime-time television, if only for an hour.

Hewitt noted that the Radio City show had no outlet on network television, unlike the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree or the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Now thanks to his persistence hundreds of thousands, if not millions unable to make it to New York or afford the $40 - $150 tickets will get to share in one of our more colorful and entertaining Holiday rites. Personally, I am just tickled about this news as last Christmas I and my niece and nephew waited on line for almost an hour only to learn there were only scattered single seats available. Thanks to Don I can just invite the kids over stay in my PJs and slippers and curl up with them to watch those fierce Rockettes strut their stuff. Thanks and a big kiss, Don! Oh, We Need a Little Christmas, Right This Very Minute!

I received an invitation for a short concert and film clip featuring my Beverly Hills pal Patricia Kennedy's protégé the brilliant Jazz artist Eric Lewis, who had just completed a score for a documentary entitled Four Seasons Lodge. Arriving at Chelsea's Sara Meltzer Gallery, I was delightedly surprised to see the internationally acclaimed film maker Albert Maysles of "Grey Gardens" and "Gimme Shelter" fame. Albert had now trained his unerring eye to a group of holocaust survivors spending their summer at a resort in upstate New York's Catskills region. The documentary is based on a New York Times article by Andrew Jacobs who wrote and directed the powerful piece.

Caught a wonderful singer with an astounding repertoire from hard country to soulful
R & B to standards. Monica Hughes takes to the mic every Thursday at One Ocean, Betty Giordano's terrific Mediterranean restaurant at the Bridgehampton Circle. I'm not normally a big fan of singers at dinner but for this stately biracial smooth toned singer I would welcome the opportunity anytime.

Birthday girl Tatiana Platt and hubby Campion at Alison's. Photo by Rob Rich

On the Bonnie Raitt classic, "Let's Give Them Somethin' To Talk About", Monica gently wailed the tune adding an R & B tinge to the country fave. Switching gears she moved into a set of classics. She handled the oft sung "Embrace Me, My Embraceable You" with gentle styling and perfect phrasing. Monica treats all lyrics with great respect and is clearly a song writer's delight. In a paean to Aretha Franklin, she launched into her own version of "Chain of Fools" and a powerful take on "Respect", which knocked us out. More standards continued with a charming "Bewitched" and a mournful "Good Morning Heartache" that would have done Billie Holliday proud. Her tribute to her idols continued with the most powerful and heartbreaking take I have ever heard on the Roberta Flack signature tune, "Killing Me Softly" and made it her own. Monica closed her set with a song long associated with my personal Goddess, Patti LaBelle a gutsy choice. But no sweat for Miss Hughes who hit that high note on "Why, Oh Why Can't I" that shook the chandeliers. Check her out while enjoying one of the many special prix fixe dinner packages One Ocean offers everyday. It's a great spot for a no pressure date.

Made a trip over to Tugboat's North Sea House to check out the scene as I'd been hearing there were impromptu jazz sessions in the later hours owner. Chris Mackin has truly made it an easy going spot, the equivalent of "going over to your friend's house," as he said. Tugboat's has a library, living room, lounge, kitchen, bar and dining room. The menu is a your basic bar food line up of burgers, chicken sandwiches and "spiedies" - skewered grilled meats served on Italian bread, simply delish! While we were too early for the music we were able to while away a few hours with some fierce backgammon.
It was a welcome respite from the frenetic club scene.

I just learned that Katherine Kane, who used to work in Joe Realmuto's kitchen at Nick & Toni's has heeded the call to "Go West, Young Gal", well at least as far as Westhampton Beach. KK is now top chef at The Patio at 54 Main which has been recently renovated and changed their menu to a New American style with such dishes as grilled lamb chops with a mojito reduction. Yummy!

Over a quiet sunset dinner at my friends Phillip Prianti and Michael Conforti's charming Peconic Bay-side retreat with the most stunning views, there was lots of theater talk and betting on who'll take home the Tonys this year. Also heard some news shared by one of their guests, a producer that his new musical will be hitting Broadway this season that is sure to shake thing up a bit the way that "Spring Awakening" with its score by rocker Duncan Sheik did this past year. The show called "American Duet" takes you on a musical journey with two cultural anomalies: Hank Jefferson, a black country singer and Michael Ibo, a white African pop vocalist. Through a combination of monologues, scenes, and musical numbers, the play examines the fragmentation of American music and confronts a basic human dilemma: how to maintain our dreams in a world full of compromise.

In this musical, each man takes us on his journey to fame and shows us the price of crossing the racial line that runs through American music. The score is by Marcus Hummon, one of Nashville's most consistently successful and innovative songwriters. He was named "Nashville's Top Songwriter" by the Nashville Scene's Readers Poll three years in a row. He has written, or co-written, hits for Sara Evans ("Born to Fly"), the Dixie Chicks ("Ready to Run" and "Cowboy, Take Me Away"), Tim McGraw ("One of These Days"), Wynonna Judd ("Only Love"), and most recently, Rascal Flatts ("Bless the Broken Road"), along with many others, garnering Grammy, CMA, and Tony nominations.

Venturing into theatre, Marcus has received Metro and Tennessee Arts Grants for three of his musicals: American Duet, co-written with Bill Feehely, Artistic Director of Actors Bridge, Francis of Guernica, performed by Tennessee Repertory Theatre, and Warrior, a work based on the life of Jim Thorpe, the great Native American Athlete, which premiered at the new Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. Warrior also garnered Marcus the award for creative achievement given by the Native American Association of Tennessee. His work includes, The Piper, debuted at the Hartt School in Hartford, CT, and his new musical, Atlanta, will be produced by Actors Bridge. In New York, American Duet received a stage reading at the New 42nd Street Studios and is slated to open off Broadway in September, 2005. His opera, Poor Players, is scheduled to be performed by the Nashville Opera in November, 2005. His musicals have not only played to sell out crowds, but have also generated great reviews and multiple "Tennie" (Tennessean Theatre Critic) awards. In a review of American Duet, The Tennessean's theatre critic, Kevin Nance, wrote:

"...Hummon offers a visionary alternative. His score for American Duet-a pulsing, yearning, soaring amalgam of Afropop and country styles-masterfully delineates and then subtly blends the two genres so that, by the end, the differences between them all but disappear and a new thing, a third thing, has taken their place. The result is no self-conscious hybrid; it has its own kind of integrity, perfect and whole."

Sounds like not just a breath of fresh air but a gust guaranteed to knock New York's jaded theater critics out of their cushy on the aisle velvet seats. I can't wait! Remember, Jennifer told you first.