I went to see the Studio 54 Night Magic exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum.
I was immediately flooded with so many memories. The dancing, the fashion, the music, the celebrities, what party it was for just 33 months!!!
I had been invited to the opening of Studio 54. It was a school night and I was 16 and was in a cast as I had broken my leg that winter, needless to say, my father would not let me go. Needless to say, I never forgave him.
Although I did go there often. I was very friendly with Jeanie Schrager, Ian Schrager’s sister. Jeanie passed away tragically in 1985 she was only 41. She always had my name on the guest list. I was so fortunate to experience the party that was Studio 54!!!! I remember the lights, the party, and the excitement.
While I was on a teen tour in 1976 my father had become friendly with Jeanie Schrager.
Jeanie and my father met at the Concord Hotel. My father was newly single, drove a motorcycle, and was always up for a party. Jeanie was practically living at our house when I arrived back from my cross country adventure. She spent so much time at our house because she hadn’t paid her electric bill on East 56th Street. Jeanie and I became fast friends. She eventually paid her Con Ed bill and moved back to NYC. Being that she had a fabulous apartment at the Bristol on the Upper East Side. I found myself there are many occasions, enamored with NYC and city living. We started sharing our holiday meals with her and her family. The dinners were attended by all sorts of glamourous people. Her brother was Ian Schrager and his best friend was Steve Rubell and was not yet famous. At the time they owned a disco in Douglaston NY called The Enchanted Garden, where they hosted my Sweet 16, Jeanie had calligraphed over 100 invitations for me that we bought at Bloomingdales. Both Schrager and Rubell were there that Saturday in December. At the time, I was all of 15 years old. Ian Schrager was showing me swatches for his new club Studio 54!!! He wanted my opinion with the couches should be silver or burgundy color. You can only imagine how many times I told that story. It was a big deal for this 15-year-old from Bayside Queens.
There has never been–and will never be–another nightclub to rival the sheer glamour, energy, and wild creativity that was Studio 54.
If there is one nightclub that has made a lasting impact on pop culture, it has to be Studio 54.
Unfortunately, the exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum opened on March 13, 2020, at the height of the Pandemic fear. So not as many will get to see it. Studio 54: Night Magic, open until November 8th, contains 650 objects within 10,000 square feet. There are 250 photographs, 40 videos, and 65 pieces of fashion, as well as invitations, journals, and sketches of sets and lighting. There’s also a section dedicated to the crew of Studio 54: Rubell and Schrager, bartenders, coat check workers, and doormen.
