Little Island was the place to be Thursday night, despite any drizzle.
New York bon vivant Fran Lebowitz was spotted chatting with famed photographer Annie Leibovitz before the debut of choreographer Twyla Tharp’s new show, “How Long Blues,” while “Murphy Brown” legend Candice Bergen held court nearby.
Bravo head Andy Cohen — who is publicly dealing with blowback from a number of “Real Housewives” stars — was spotted having a blast sitting next to Jimmy Buffett’s widow, Jane.
Cohen was heard gossiping with a “Summer House” fan across the aisle about the show, which was airing its reunion episode the same night.
Natasha Lyonne and CAA whiz Bryan Lourd were also in the crowd.
Billionaire Barry Diller welcomed guests with wife, fashion icon Diane Von Furstenberg, who both pioneered the island project.
Of the gray weather, Diller said, “It’s not a parade, but I hope no one rains on it… Maybe we’ll be lucky. Don’t they say if it’s a wedding, if it rains it’s good luck? But nobody is going to be happy.”
The skies seemed to have cleared at the beginning of the dance performance set to the tunes of T Bone Burnett and David Mansfield.
When it began to drizzle later, a few guests ducked out. But most stayed in their seats as it misted through the song “Hallelujah,” and the dancers received rousing applause.
Diller explained of the park and performance space that opened in 2021: “This is the beginning of four months of performance… What we wanted to do was commission new work… One of the reasons we wanted to do it, is because so little of that is happening in New York and many cities where arts budgets and non-profits have been slaughtered post-COVID.”
Diller and Von Furstenberg ponied up $260 million to create the multitiered floating park at Pier 55, via a family foundation and some government funding.
Diller has also committed another $100 million to the park’s programming. Each performance is $25 per ticket.
