Shelby About Town

Natalie Portman, Vince Young and George Clooney are making connections inHouston

Susan and Michael Plank, among key Houston investors in "Black Swan," are readyfor the Oscars.
Photo by Gary Fountain
Natalie Portman's Golden Globe win sent the Plank party into tequila-inspiredcelebration.
Joining forces at the Heart Ball underwriter party were Dan and Kim Tutcher,from left, Willie Wood and hosts Sue and Lester Smith.
Vince Young checked out Benjy's in advance of doing his own restaurant/bar thingin Austin.
Sheryl Ralph Lee was spotted at La Griglia.

It was frosted tequila toasts for all their friends when Susan and Mike Plank raised their glasses Sunday night in celebration of Natalie Portman’s slam dunk win as Best Actress at the Golden Globes.

The Planks are among key investors in Cross Creek Pictures, which footed the bill for the dark psychological thriller that has garnered gallons of ink and beaucoup webspace. When the curtain went up on the Golden Globes, the Planks were joined at home by co-investors Laurie and Tracy Krohn and Suzanne and Bill O’Donnell and several close friends.

The otherwise quiet evening began with a little lasagne and Caesar salad dinner, whipped up by Susan, and then continued upstairs at the Planks' Hedwig Village swankienda in the "adult playroom," as Mike describes it. With eyes on the flat-screen TV, the film buffs challenged one another to a few rounds of pool and table shuffleboard until the moment came, late in the evening, for Natalie Portman.

Following the first tequila toast to the Black Swan win, the celebrants raised their glasses again — the second time in hopes of Academy Award nominations and wins. (Just in case, Susan has already selected her dress for that big night in Los Angeles — a smashing Kaufman Franco.)

More to come

With investors in Houston and Louisiana, Cross Creek Pictures is poised for more excitement with three films on tap. Shooting wrapped in London last month on The Woman in Black, starring Daniel Radcliffe, aka Harry Potter.

But even more tantalizing, particularly for the females in the partnership, is The Ides of March, which begins filming in February. That political drama stars the dreamy George Clooney, who is also directing. It's a rich cast that includes Paul Giamatti, who took home a Golden Globe on Sunday, plus Ryan Gossling, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Marisa Tomei.

And coming down the pike is Black Mass, a story of the Irish mob on the East Coast. Mike quips that there is something dark about the word "black" in the title of three of their films.

Heartfelt thanks

Who knew that Lester Smith has a near-addiction to doughnuts? Sharing that insight was just part of the fun at Lester and Sue Smith's Memorial-area home when they hosted the cocktail reception honoring chairs and underwriters of the American Heart Association's Heart Ball.

The swank gathering of 125 Heart Ball supporters began with cocktails and light bites on the ground floor of the expansive home then moved up to the second-floor ballroom for remarks, the doughnut revelation and a spin around the dance floor by the beyond-talented Smiths.

Key players on this night included Heart Ball chairs Kim and Dan Tutcher, honoree Margaret Williams, Jim Daniel, Kathy and Kirk Hatchigan, Roxann Neumann, Susan and Dick Hansen, Andrea and Bill White and Philamena and Arthur Baird.

Something in the air

Word on the street is that Julia Frankel, Rosemary Schatzman, Sheridan Williams, Melissa Mithoff, Elizabeth Petersen, Kelli Blanton and Gracie Cavnar all have something in common to celebrate. Confirmation on that tomorrow.

Sight 'ems

Tennessee Titan and hometown talent Vince Young sampling the menu at Benjy's on Washington with a group of friends. The popular quarterback ordered rounds of Patron margaritas for a group of gals, who were likewise sending him cocktails and shots. We hear that Young was doing a little restaurant research, visiting various hot spots in H-town in advance of opening a restaurant/bar in Austin . . .

Ashley Wehrly the center of attention at Ouisie's where Cindi Rose, Jennifer LeGrand, Shelley Daly and Erin Elmore hosted a baby shower brunch in her honor. Wehrly and Jared Kearney II are expecting their first image at the end of March. Among the 40 gals filling "Ashley's Nest" were Melissa Mithoff, Mauney Mafrige, Marcy DeLuna, Erin Florescu, Elizabeth Petersen, Elizabeth Dorsey and Guyla Pircher . . .

Barbara and George H.W. Bush lunching at a table for two at La Griglia where that night Fred Zeidman, Eduardo Aguirre and Eric Andell chewed over dinner and their tenures in D.C. during 43's years in office . . .

"Cabaret for a Cure" chair Lora Clemmons hosting "Cabaret for a Cure" star Sheryl Lee Ralph for a tasty repast at La Griglia . . .

David McKeithan hosting the "Lunch Bunch" of pals at the Briar Club. In the all-male pack — Jodie Hoffer, Dr. Tom Sawyer, Ulyesse LeGrange, Dr. Del Delery, Bill Crassas, Bill McNamara and John Sullivan.

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Just Brilliant

Houston Grand Opera bids beloved director farewell at $1.8M gala

Photo by Dave Rossman

Tania Kanga, Nancy Gonzalez, Denise Reyes, Ona Alicia Okeke, and Destiny Fernandisse.

Top this, Houston social scene.

Houston Grand Opera’s latest fête glowed with the kind of radiance you can’t bottle, no matter how many votives you line up. The 2026 Opera Ball, dubbed Brilliance Ball: A Celebration of Light and Legacy, set the Wortham Theater Center aglow, leaving this guest with one lingering question: How exactly does one top this next year?

Chaired by longtime HGO supporters John Turner and Jerry Fischer, the evening was a love letter to opera and a curtain call for honoree Patrick Summers, whose 25-plus years of HGO artistic leadership have shaped Houston’s operatic identity into a global phenomenon.

Nearly 400 guests gathered in white tie finery, drifting through a cocktail hour where caviar-topped blinis made the rounds and martinis appeared out of nowhere. The Events Company leaned into the theme with softly illuminated dreamscape of candlelight, gold accents, and cloudlike white florals.

Soprano Renée Fleming mused over her decades-long artistic friendship with Summers. Accompanied by chief artistic officer Richard Bado on the piano, Fleming’s set included Puccini’s “O mio babbino caro” to “You’ll Never Walk Alone” to a number that could be the closest the chanteuse will get to Hip Hop.

Khori Dastoor paid tribute to Summers’ “unshakable vision,” while the maestro himself reminded the crowd that Houston’s role in the future of opera is significant. The presentation of the Silver Rose award was a gorgeous moment that marked the close of a transformative chapter as Summers prepares to step into his next role as Music Director Emeritus.

Incoming music director James Gaffigan and wife Marta made a transatlantic cameo, flying in just for the occasion before heading back to Valencia the next day. Despite canceled flights and the typical ugh that’s flying nowadays, we did hear the couple made it back to Spain in one piece.

With a starting bid of $150,000, a Steinway Spirio — pre-loaded with Summers’ performances and signed by Fleming — was another star of the show. The Big Beyond ensured the dance floor stayed anything but theoretical well into the night. Some of us, not quite ready for party to end, let Fleming’s Bel Canto album — with Summers at the helm — spill through the speakers on the drive home before we inevitably turned into pumpkins.

The ball raised more than $1.8 million in support of HGO’s productions and community initiatives.

CultureMap seen were Farida Abjani, Tom Ajamie, Margaret Alkek Williams, Abdullah and Asuman Antepli, Ann and Jonathan Ayre, Chris Bacon and Craig Miller, Astley Blair and Viviana Jolie, Kristy and Chris Bradshaw, Zane and Brady Carruth, Theresa Chang, Louise Chapman, Jane Cizik, Cheryl and Mike Clancy, Brittany and Adam Clark, Isabel and Danny David, Anna Dean, Hallie Vanderhider and Bobby Dees, Marty Dudley, Rachel and Warren Ellsworth, Elaine Finger, Jen and Ben Fink, Claire Liu and Joe Greenberg, Matthew Healey and Denise Reyes, Elizabeth Husseini and Richard Husseini, Teresa and José Ivo, Mady and Ken Kades, Brigitte Kalai, Elizabeth and Bill Kroger, Blair and Barbara Labatt, Michele Leal, Sarah and Bryant Lee, Matthew Loden, Beth Madison, David Peavy and Stephen McCauley, Laura McWilliams, Denise Monteleone, Beth Muecke, Terrylin Neale, Kelly and Cody Nicholson, David Peck and Michelle Phillips, Cynthia and Tony Petrello, Rosemin Premji, Rebecca Rabinow and Matthew Ringel, Kelly and David Rose, Louisa Sarofim, Dian and Harlan Stai, Sarah and Aaron Stai, Marguerite Swartz, Valerie and Stephen Toups, Phoebe and Bobby Tudor, Jesse Tutor, Geraldina and Scott Wise, and Huda and William Zoghbi.

Photo by Dave Rossman

Tania Kanga, Nancy Gonzalez, Denise Reyes, Ona Alicia Okeke, and Destiny Fernandisse.

fundraisers galas houston grand opera