Ziegfeld Girl Honored at Paradise Follies, Hosted by Isabel Keating, March 25

On March 25th, Hourglass Group will kick off its 2006 season with Paradise Follies at the Murphy Amphitheatre at FIT.

Hosted by Tony-nominated Isabel Keating (The Boy from Oz), the gala event will honor Dorothy Wegman Raphaelson (1904-2005), the penultimate Ziegfeld Girl and the wife of playwright and screenwriter Samson Raphaelson, who wrote the classic Ernst Lubitsch film Trouble in Paradise.

Paradise Follies will feature a gala champagne reception with Drama Desk award-winning composer Michael Garin (Song of Singapore) on the piano, a tribute film to Dorothy Raphaelson, a screening of Trouble in Paradise and a celebrity-filled afterparty sponsored by Grey Goose Vodka at the soon-to-open Chelsea club, Balance. Balance will house the Museum of Mixology, a museum dedicated to the history of the cocktail.

Host Keating has appeared in Hourglass's presentations of The Pleasure Man and as Hedy Lamarr in Frequency Hopping. Many stars from film and Broadway are expected to attend the event: the benefit committee includes Cynthia Nixon, Edward Norton, Julie Halston, Saidah Arrika Ekolona, Charles Busch and John Guare. A portion of the proceeds will also benefit the Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic of The Actors' Fund, which is providing health services to entertainment professionals who have relocated to NYC from New Orleans.

In June, Hourglass Group will present the world premiere of a new stage adaptation of Trouble in Paradise. Adapted by playwright David Simpatico, directed by Elyse Singer and featuring an original jazz score by award-winning composer/musician Steven Bernstein (Sex Mob), Trouble in Paradise will be performed at the Hudson Guild in Chelsea.

Hourglass Group has been producing adventurous new plays and neglected classics since 1999. The company is best known for its off-Broadway production of the first NYC revival of Mae West's play Sex. Other credits include the world premiere of Ruth Margraff's Red Frogs at P.S. 122 and Mae West's Pleasure Man starring Charles Busch and Tom Hewitt. In addition to Trouble in Paradise, Hourglass's upcoming season includes Ruth Margraff's new gypsy opera, Wellspring, set in 1999 Sarajevo; and Kate Moira Ryan's comedy, Dishes for Artists.

Paradise Follies will begin with the gala champagne reception at 6:30pm; the screening will be held at 8pm and the after-party at Balance will follow at 10pm. The Katie Murphy Amphitheatre at F.I.T. is located at 7th Ave. at 27th St. For reservations, call (212) 868-4444 or visit www.hourglassgroup.org.