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Flappers, bootleggers and suspender-clad gents convened on Governors Island last weekend for the Jazz Age Lawn Party, the first of two such events this summer. Established by Dreamland Orchestra maestro Michael Arenella in 2006, the soiree has long been an annual hit with nostalgic types. But there was one very high-profile partier in the crowd, clad in casual trousers, a vest and a newsboy cap: director Baz Luhrmann, who first attended the fete three years ago while researching “The Great Gatsby.”
“We couldn’t have gotten any luckier,” the Australian-born filmmaker told The Post, talking about how he discovered the party while “Gatsby” was in pre-production.
“You can do as much research as you like, but you can’t actually live the spirit of the twenties until you come out here and have a few [cocktails].”
In keeping with the Prohibition-era theme, Luhrmann admitted to sneaking in a bit of his own hooch, though there were plenty of spirits for attendees to indulge in. While bartenders poured drinks courtesy of liquor sponsor St. Germain Liqueur, lines stretched for fare that included Cornish hen on garlic toast, sirloin steak sandwiches and oysters on the half shell.
“The general theme is ‘Taste of the Twenties,’ ” explained NYC restaurateur Jimmy Carbone, who created the menu and whose past culinary forays at the locale include Pig Island and Cook Out NYC. “It’s very basic, but this is what twenties food was.” When the party returns Aug. 17 and 18, Carbone says, a whole roasted pig will be served as part of a luau theme.
But it was more than just food and the chance to rub elbows with a Hollywood director that lured the masses to a trip back in time.
“The twenties was a time of adventure and exploration,” says Arenella of the party’s allure.
As such, the two-day fest drew crowds dressed in their most dapper 1920s-esque apparel for an afternoon of lounging under parasols, dancing the Charleston and perusing old-timey vendors while jazz hits bellowed from a duo of phonographs.
“It’s like vintage Christmas!” enthused partygoer Daphne Malfitano, her red hair in finger waves and her blush dress evocative of the event’s decade du jour.
“We’d just come out of World War I, and everybody was looking to celebrate life and live it to the fullest,” Arenella said before taking the stage to perform with his orchestra. “It was a great time. It was an exciting, sexy time.”
Luhrmann agrees. “It wasn’t called the Polite Twenties,” he said. “It was called the Roaring Twenties, and it roared!”