HOMES OF THE TREASURE COAST
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Perle Mesta of Vero Beach,” she says, referring to the late U.S.
ambassador to Luxembourg, who was the party maker in
New York City during the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s.
LOVE OF THEATER
The people she enjoys entertaining most are those in the
theater, with whom she feels very much at home, having been
an actor and drama teacher in New York, where she lived until
she was 49. The party she is most famous for is Riverside
Theatre’s end-of-season wrap party. This year the theme was
“South Pacific,” the final show of the 2013-2014 season, and
Astrachan’s house could not have been more perfect. Guests
entered the home through 10-foot-high mahogany doors
that open onto an expansive entryway decorated with black
and white Chinese armchairs that complement a stark-white
leather couch and a Yamaha grand piano ― all set against a
backdrop of 12-foot floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of
the pool. Throughout the evening, Riverside’s musical director,
Ben Clifton, played many a tune as members of the cast
sang songs from the show.
Astrachan, 76, became involved with Riverside Theatre six
years ago, after her husband died. “I spent a year in mourning,
and I knew I was in trouble because I couldn’t stop crying. My
brother, who’s a psychiatrist, told me to get involved with something,
to volunteer. But when I thought of volunteering I thought
of a candy striper and I didn’t want to do that,” she says.
But, as fate would have it, on that particular day when
Astrachan was talking with her brother, there was an article
in the Press Journal about volunteer opportunities on the
Treasure Coast. “I went down the list and read them to my
brother. When I read Riverside Theatre he told me to stop.
BENJAMIN HAGER
Astrachan is most famous for, Riverside Theatre’s end-of-season wrap party,
above. This year the theme was “South Pacific,” the final show of the 2013-
>> 2014 season.
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