Party Panache

About 80 people spent an evening enjoying the amber-colored sunset from Bette and Wylie Aitken’s charming cottage on the sands of Newport Beach’s Balboa Peninsula. The power couple hosted a cocktail party to thank the underwriters and committee members who have pledged to make this year’s Black & White Ball a success for South Coast Repertory. It was the first official bash for SCR’s new artistic director, Marc Masterson, who commented on Orange County’s party panache: “This is a first for me—I’ve never been to a party to celebrate a party.” That was only the start of it. Just wait till the real party begins! Photos by Debora Robinson