Last night, The Observer became intimately familiar with the art of drumming. We were inside the Café Carlyle’s cozy confines, sitting at a table within spitting, nay, licking distance of Christine Ebersole’s drummer. Quarters were so tight, we had to lean back to avoid his rhythmic jabs. It was a mini-cabaret performance held by the Broadway legend for a select group of friends and fans in the storied noshery. Read More

When The Observer saw Gina Carano yesterday evening, she was entirely different than we remembered her. Having known her as “Crush,” that fearsomely buff MMA champ on NBC’s masochistic macho game show American Gladiators, we were surprised to see her in a tight-fitting black dress and blazer. Although we expected to look like, well, a gladiator in a dress, Ms. Carano carried herself with poise and confidence. Read More

Last night, The Observer stepped into West Village hotspot The Lion for an intimate dinner. A hostess promptly took us up a claustrophobic staircase, opened a ptomken wall and ushered us into a dimly lit chamber. Amidst the suit of armor, taxidermies, and leather chairs were Mark Feuerstein and Matt Bomer, the stars of two USA network shows.

A circle of young female reporters were shamelessly batting their eyelashes in the dimly lit room as Mr. Feurstein, who plays Hank Lawson, on Royal Pains, introduced himself and made small talk. Matt Bomer the felonious protagonist in White Collar made the requisite hand-shaking room tour in his pin-striped suit. Read More

The invitation was a study in negative space: black letters embossed on black velvet. It was a gimmick we had only seen once before: at a party, years ago, when Ricky Kenig, the founder of the eponymous chain of expensive-makeup-and-slutty-costume emporia, had pressed into The Observer’s hand a black velvet business card that read simply Read More