January 26, 2007

Charleston Stage 2007 Gala
A Party that Will Not Soon Be Forgotten!

For Immediate Release
Contact: Barbara P. Heddinger
843.795.1420
barbara@heddinger.ws

The Charleston Stage Company, the most innovative theater company in Charleston, hosts a Wine Auction and Dinner for 450 guests every year. This year, they chose Mitchell Crosby and JMC Charleston to stage the event.

JMC Charleston used the theme “A Bottle of Red, A Bottle of White”, resonating to a baby boomer crowd the great feelings that come when listening to Billy Joel’s “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant”. Crosby chose to make ‘the Art of Dining and Drinking Wine’ the décor for the evening with a color combination of deep purples and soft golds--the color of grapes.

Fifteen of Charleston’s premier chefs prepared a seated dinner in kiosks around the perimeter of the room, each caring for 30 guests. The organization and choreography of the event was critical, because the Guillard Auditorium is an old building, an Exhibition Hall really, with cinderblock walls and concrete floors. JMC Charleston turned it into a sophisticated boite du nuit for the evening, the likes of which Charleston had never seen! In the past, each restaurant would have set their own tables with china, tableware and cloths from their own establishment, creating a bit of a mish mash. Mitchell’s sophisticated approach to décor and color tied it all together.

Since the silent auction took place in a different space, the WOW factor of unveiling a room cloaked in lush deep purple velvet wall coverings, stunning tables dressed in the finest gold washed glassware, flatware and china made for a royal evening, sensual lighting and flower arrangements that were both fragrant and beautiful, helped The Charleston Stage Company set record breaking goals in the live auction and created memories of dining beautifully in the least attractive room in Charleston!

Purple fabric was sourced from Technical Theater Solutions (a national production company) that had handled the tour of “Rug Rats”….once again Crosby met the challenge, turning lemons into lemonade!

DC Rentals was the first stop on the list of sourcing for tableware. Custom damask cloths and accompanying striped chair cushions had been custom made for another event but were absolutely perfect for this occasion. Gold rimmed glassware, china and gold washed flatware where chosen, along with gold topped salt and pepper shakers. The goal was not to use anything silver in the room!

Instead of matching the colors of purple and gold in the flowers for the elevated arrangements that dressed the tables, Crosby choose to use a special variety of roses from Ecuador, not commonly used Charleston, featuring lush colors and the largest blooms imaginable. The roses Mitchell used were: Oceanic, Circus, Intuition and Esperante, all beautiful! Ecuadorian/Dutch floral importer June rose to the occasion, shipping the perfect flowers. Staff was on hand at the end of the evening to make bouquets wrapped in cellophane for guests to take home. Everyone was completely awed by the décor.

One very social lady said, “I felt like I had dinner in New York or Paris—I can’t believe we dined at the Guillard”.