Red carpets can be stressful places at the best of times, but opening night of “West Side Story” in Times Square on Thursday was especially hectic.
Around two dozen protesters stood to one side of the marquis on Broadway, demonstrating against Amar Ramasar, a cast member who has been accused of sending sexually explicit photos of his girlfriend.
At the other end was Stephen Sondheim, the show’s 89-year-old lyricist, who was having a hard time with the red carpet photographers. “Enough, enough!” he said, taking a swipe at one photographer with his cane.
With more 1,700 hundred seats, the Broadway Theater is one of the area’s largest, and foot traffic to get in was heavy. Alec Baldwin, Vanessa Hudgens, Debi Mazar and Chris Cooper walked the media gantlet, alongside musical theater talent like Celia Keenan-Bolger, Sherie Rene Scott and Sierra Boggess.
Julie Taymor, a director known for productions like “The Lion King,” said she had been approached by Quincy Jones, the producer, to remake a “West Side Story” film about a decade ago. “I got fairly far, but Arthur Laurents” — the original playwright — “wouldn’t have it,” she said. “At that time, he was still directing.”
After the performance, a video-driven retelling of an American classic, the cast, including Mr. Ramasar, Shereen Pimentel, Isaac Powell, Yesenia Ayala and Dharon E. Jones, received warm applause. The young stars quickly changed to join several hundred guests at the IAC headquarters in Chelsea for an after-party.
Among those in the lobby, where a D.J. blasted earsplitting pop songs, were Spike Lee, Russell Tovey, Marisa Tomei, Debi Mazar and Diane von Furstenberg.
Ivo van Hove, the director, said he was “surprised” by the protest earlier in the night, but that it did not detract from the opening.
“For me, when someone was acquitted, I don’t see why we cannot hire him,” he said. “I also respect the people who protest. We live in a free society, and everybody can protest whatever they want.”
Serial Movers
“Would you like a tour?” said Athena Calderone, the former actress turned lifestyle influencer, who held a dinner party Monday at her Brooklyn townhouse to celebrate her new interiors book, “Live Beautiful.”
Her early guests — a cross-section of designers, young socialites and editors — happily obliged. Jenna Lyons, the former creative director of J. Crew, trooped upstairs, followed by Naomi Watts, Paul Arnhold and Wes Gordon.
“This is where the magic happens,” Ms. Watts said, upon entering the bedroom the hostess shares with her husband, Victor Calderone, a D.J. and music producer.
Ms. Calderone proudly showed off the floor-through master suite, which includes a dressing room and a bathroom with a fireplace. She was wearing a black cocktail dress by Carolina Herrera (designed by Mr. Gordon) and lots of gold Tiffany jewelry.
Amy Astley, the editor of Architectural Digest and a host of the party, tittered as Ms. Calderone tickled the groin of a male nude statue standing beside the bathtub. “My husband and I started investing in real estate when we were quite young, and I’ve done eight of my own homes,” said Ms. Calderone, 45, who has 274,000 followers on her food-and-design-focused Instagram account. “Because we move every two years, I never want to repeat myself.”
Downstairs, Ignacio Mattos, the chef and restaurateur (Altro Paradiso), prepared a meal of red snapper served with Robert Mondavi wines. Guests including Casey Fremont, Ulla Johnson, Douglas Friedman, Waris Ahluwalia, Rachelle Hruska, Sean MacPherson and Reinaldo Leandro were excited to see a blue Tiffany bag at each place setting, although there was muted disappointment that it contained only a deck of cards.
After dinner, Mr. Calderone played with Tuco, a Labrador-pit bull mix rescue puppy. He joked that so many moves over the years had “almost killed” him. “No more projects,” he said. “This is it!”
