When former Mayor Bill White received an invitation to the "Men of Menil: Evening of Magic" dinner, restricted to men only with a black-tie dress code, he and his wife joked that it sounded like the movie Eyes Wide Shut. In that 1999 film, Tom Cruise happens onto a black-tie party that ends up in an orgy.

There was no such hanky panky at the museum's Richmond Hall Wednesday night, as the city's movers and shakers gathered in black-tie for a lavish dinner prepared by Jackson & Co. and cigar smoking in an outdoor tent afterwards. During the cocktail hour, a quartet of magicians performed amazing card tricks, including three card monte and shell games.

After dinner, Eddie Allen, who hosted the event with Mark Wawro and Marc Melcher, was called onstage and placed in a guillotine as the blade dropped down. Fortunately the trick worked — good sport Allen kept his head.

The evening — the second such Men of Menil mixer — doubled attendance from last year and raised more than $300,000 for the museum's education, community outreach and exhibition programs.

While many in the crowd showed up in a traditional tux with clip-on tie, a number of men chose to individualize their looks with a jacket with a pique or shawl lapel. Former Houston mayoral candidate Peter Brown wore a black Nehru jacket.

Others dressed up their look with a leopard-print cummerbund or out-of-the-ordinary ties.

"I made sure my tie is black because it matches my black cowboy boots," said Dean Burkart, in a western bolo tie. "You never want to fail to meet the obligations of your host."

Like a number of men at the event, Kevin Cunningham wore a hand-tied bow tie (always the mark of a gentleman).

"It's brutal," he joked about the process of tying the knot. "I practice by walking backward. I do everything backward for about an hour (while getting ready)."

Even so, there were so many men in black that it was hard to distinguish one from the other. "At events like this I'm tempted to wear a Texas flag tie and cummerbund to stand out," said Stephen Schwarz.

Also spotted in the crowd, Menil director Josef Helfenstein, Harry Pinson, Jim Reeder, Brad Wyatt, Michael Skelly, Steve Wallach, George Stark, John Thrash, Pat Burk, Rich Levy, Houston Appeals Court Justice Michael Massingale and three generations of Blantons — Jack Jr., Jack III and Eddy. The Blantons have been longtime supporters of the Houston arts scene.