In The Hamptons, Showtime For The Apollo

From the Wall Street Journal:

EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. -- There were a lot of people monitoring the entrance to the Creeks, Ronald Perelman's East End property, on Saturday night. A handful of women in pretty dresses confirmed names on a list, while a few other folks, wearing white polo Creeks shirts, did car inspections.

"Roll down all your windows," said one of the guards at the checkpoint. All of them? Really? "We need to make sure there's no one else in your car."

There was something a teensy bit paranoid about this, sure, but maybe it was warranted. Last year's summer Hamptons party to benefit the Apollo Theater -- the first -- featured intimate performances by Mary J. Blige and John Legend and, on the menu, some of the best fried chicken you've ever tasted. It was definitely an unmissable affair, even if you had to sneak in "Cape Fear" style, i.e. underneath a vehicle, or roll up to shore from Georgica Pond in a blow-up kiddie raft.

Of course, it's always special to try to get a glimpse of Mr. Perelman's art collection or the eccentricities of his home. This visit, we noticed multiple landline telephones on his deck, each accompanied by a Creeks notepad, a fresh writing utensil and a pair of reading glasses. (You never know where you'll want to sit, one assumes.)

A lot of the same crowd from last year attended this year's fund-raiser, including Carey Lowell and Richard Gere (in a pair of New Balance 993s), Jon Bon Jovi, Dick and Laura Parsons (Mr. Parsons was even wearing the same Hawaiian shirt as the year before) and Penny Marshall, who attempted to stay away from the main attraction on the buffet. "I'm trying to diet," Ms. Marshall said, "but you can't do that with this fried chicken."

First up was Ben E. King. Then came Bettye LaVette, who spoke about reading Jet magazine as a young woman and dreaming of moving to Harlem to play at the Apollo. Mr. Bon Jovi was on next. He did his very own rendition of "Dancing in the Street" and "Twist and Shout."

"Nobody gets to come for meals here for free," Mr. Bon Jovi said. "I've got to sing for my supper."

Following Mr. Bon Jovi came a roof-raising Jamie Foxx, who performed both as himself and as Ray Charles.

"I was enjoying myself so much backstage watching Jamie, that I almost forgot I was supposed to come on stage and sing too," said Alicia Keys, who did a trio of tunes before Mr. King, Mr. Bon Jovi and Ms. LaVette closed the night with a larger-than-life "Stand By Me." "Rooms aren't usually this fun," Ms. Keys said.

Mr. Perelman said he hopes to raise $2 million at this benefit next summer. But even his staff asked him: How would he be able to top Mr. Foxx, Ms. LaVette, Ms. Keys, Mr. Bon Jovi and Mr. King?

"Next year we're going to have Elvis," he said. He didn't appear to be kidding.

The Creeks is more than just an uber-estate (some 57-acres with a mile of waterfront on lovely Georgica Pond as best as I can remember), but one of the (if not the) most important houses in the Hamptons. Did you know that the property features a full acre of irises? Or that some of the rarest conifers on the planet flourish there? You can read a little bit about that aspect of The Creeks here.


Below are a slew of pictures from the event this past weekend.

~ Hath