The New York Public Library was filled with shades of purple—aptly—for the opening night party of the Broadway musical version of the book and movie The Color Purple. Instead of an obvious purple haze throughout the venue, guests saw subtle lighting changes as they worked their way through the event’s three levels.
Coordinated for the show’s producers (who include, you may have heard, Oprah Winfrey) by the Tobak Lawrence Company, the look was simple, but subtle. As event designer Susan Holland of Susan Holland & Company told us, the scheme “grew from the library and the book: to honor the architecture and to set a mood fitting the importance of the show.” As guests wandered through the venue they encountered hues—“It’s like a discovery of purple,” Holland said—with rosy tones filling the balcony overlooking Astor Hall and shades of deep purple and violet on the top floor, in the McGraw Rotunda, which served as a disco and lounge.
Dramatic rows of cocktail tables covered in cappuccino-colored faux suede (and topped with tall barrel-like hurricane lanterns cast out of wax) lined the long hall at the rear of Astor Hall. As Holland pointed out, the curvy silhouettes suggested women in dresses, giving a sculptural look to the space.
Holland created lounge nooks on the landings of the stairs leading from two sides of Astor Hall up to the balcony, and Glow Lighting Design cast them in a soft pink, with more suede-covered tables and rectangular lanterns. Reserved seating for special guests (including a table set aside for the book’s author, Alice Walker) consisted of a long line of high rectangular tables in the second-floor hall, which Glow lit with a rosy fuchsia. Tabletop decor included straight lines of dark reddish purple votives and purple glass champagne buckets.
Decorative purple gobos lit the library’s highest level, the elegant McGraw Rotunda, where groups of ottomans formed bedlike lounging spots. Illuminated rich violet cubes accompanied the seating.
Creative Edge Parties put together a Southern-inspired dinner to fit with the show’s setting. Arranged in purple boxes were entree choices of chicken strips with barbecue sauce or barbecued tuna, along with two clear square containers holding sides of potato hash (with purple potatoes, of course) and green beans with black truffle vinaigrette. Ham, cheddar, and chive biscuits were passed too, and desserts included miniature sweet potato, pecan, and apple pies.
—Mark Mavrigian
Photo: Courtesy of Creative Edge Parties (food)
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Coordinated for the show’s producers (who include, you may have heard, Oprah Winfrey) by the Tobak Lawrence Company, the look was simple, but subtle. As event designer Susan Holland of Susan Holland & Company told us, the scheme “grew from the library and the book: to honor the architecture and to set a mood fitting the importance of the show.” As guests wandered through the venue they encountered hues—“It’s like a discovery of purple,” Holland said—with rosy tones filling the balcony overlooking Astor Hall and shades of deep purple and violet on the top floor, in the McGraw Rotunda, which served as a disco and lounge.
Dramatic rows of cocktail tables covered in cappuccino-colored faux suede (and topped with tall barrel-like hurricane lanterns cast out of wax) lined the long hall at the rear of Astor Hall. As Holland pointed out, the curvy silhouettes suggested women in dresses, giving a sculptural look to the space.
Holland created lounge nooks on the landings of the stairs leading from two sides of Astor Hall up to the balcony, and Glow Lighting Design cast them in a soft pink, with more suede-covered tables and rectangular lanterns. Reserved seating for special guests (including a table set aside for the book’s author, Alice Walker) consisted of a long line of high rectangular tables in the second-floor hall, which Glow lit with a rosy fuchsia. Tabletop decor included straight lines of dark reddish purple votives and purple glass champagne buckets.
Decorative purple gobos lit the library’s highest level, the elegant McGraw Rotunda, where groups of ottomans formed bedlike lounging spots. Illuminated rich violet cubes accompanied the seating.
Creative Edge Parties put together a Southern-inspired dinner to fit with the show’s setting. Arranged in purple boxes were entree choices of chicken strips with barbecue sauce or barbecued tuna, along with two clear square containers holding sides of potato hash (with purple potatoes, of course) and green beans with black truffle vinaigrette. Ham, cheddar, and chive biscuits were passed too, and desserts included miniature sweet potato, pecan, and apple pies.
—Mark Mavrigian
Photo: Courtesy of Creative Edge Parties (food)
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