Scene & Heard: The write stuff for Brooke Shields and a Broad Stage kickoff

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Brooke Shields communicated via pen and paper at Wednesday’s fashion show and luncheon for donors to Aviva Family and Children’s Services. “I’m in a show and have to rest my voice,” she politely wrote when well-wishers came to greet her.

Shields stars in “Leap of Faith,” a new musical scored by Oscar-winner Alan Menken, who also composed “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Enchanted.” Although the show closes at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, there are hopes the show will open on Broadway.

For the fashion show, the actress joined John Cruz and Tom Voltin of Saks Fifth Avenue, the luncheon sponsor; fashion designer Gilles Mendel of J. Mendel; and event co-chairs Susan Casden and Robin Broidy.

A few days earlier, supporters of another theater -- this time the Broad Stage in Santa Monica -- got their first taste of the upcoming “Winter Feast & Frolic” at a kickoff party at Eva and Marc Stern’s Malibu home.

The coming fundraiaser -- a Jane Austen-themed benefit -- is scheduled for Dec. 4. Party guest Jamie Lee Curtis said she and her pal, Melanie Griffith, will host the affair and, as gala-goers are encouraged to dress in Regency-Era attire, the two will judge a best-costume competition.

Tennant came in costume to the kickoff too, improvising a skit with the theatrical group Jane Austen Unscripted. Tennant and the improv troupe will also perform at the gala.

Look for the full report on the Aviva fashion show and the Broad party in Scene & Heard here, and in Sunday’s Image section.

--Ellen Olivier