R S V P / ORANGE COUNTY : That Might Be a Wrap : Writer Says Her ‘Green Icebergs,’ in World Premiere at SCR, Has Caught Hollywood’s Eye

Bet it becomes a movie.

That’s the backstage buzz at South Coast Repertory now that Cecilia Fannon’s “Green Icebergs” has had its world premiere.

Fannon says that “a major producer and the president of a major motion picture company are very interested” in the play--a romantic comedy that takes a serious look at the marriages of two American couples vacationing in Tuscany.

The play begins with a case of mistaken identity. Jeff Allin (Justus) mistakes Nike Doukas (Veronica) for his wife when he enters a cafe. The two click like goblets of Chianti, leaving their respective spouses played by Robert-Curtis Brown (Claude) and Annie LaRussa (Beth) to learn they, too, have something in common.

Fannon, who lives in Newport Beach, got the idea for the play when she mistook a man for her husband years ago. “My husband and I were in New York doing some Christmas shopping--it was one of those crowded days--and I left him under a chandelier to go to the ladies’ room,” she said. “When I returned, I went up, touched him on the shoulder, and when he turned around he was 80 years old.

“I had this panicky feeling that 50 years had passed, that I’d fallen through that hole in time we hear about. So I took it to the extreme in the play.”

After the premiere on Friday, Fannon was surrounded by theatergoers who related to the play’s statements about mismatched couples and long-term love versus short-term passion. “That’s the story of my life,” one woman told Fannon.

Before the curtain, Fannon mingled in the theater lobby, sipping champagne with good friend Meg Cowles of New York (“We bumped into each other underwater in Aruba 25 years ago and have been friends ever since,” Fannon explained) and her mother, Kay Drew of Florida.

Was she nervous? “Just about the reviews,” said Fannon, flashing a wry smile. “It will probably infuriate the reviewer that an audience will laugh at such trash, you know?”

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Western Medical Center bash: Philanthropist Zee Allred was honored at the “Wild, Wild West” gala benefit for Western Medical Center in Santa Ana on Saturday.

About $100,000 was raised for the WestMed Regional Trauma Center, one of three regional trauma centers in Orange County.

Susie Bollman-Field of Newport Beach chaired the gala, held under a huge tent on the center’s grounds. Field, who was once married to movie producer Ted (“Three Men and a Baby”) Field, will marry Gary Levine on Thanksgiving in her Harbor Ridge Home “with about 80 friends” and her three children in attendance, she said. Then the couple is off on a European honeymoon.

For now, they’re relaxing in Aspen. “I loved doing the event, but I needed a rest,” Field said.

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Laguna Art Museum auction: The Laguna Art Museum ended up with about $100,000 in its coffers from Saturday night’s “Untitled: Untethered” art auction and buffet supper.

The evening’s top bids went for “Seated Woman” by Poly ($4,100), “Colbalt Plantains” by Laddie John Dill ($3,400) and Scott Schoenherr’s “Everglade” ($2,400).

“This auction is an excellent opportunity to see the works of more than 200 artists under one roof,” said auction co-chairwoman Teri Kennady.