One of the Wealthiest Towns in the Country Just Fired Queen Camilla’s Nephew

Plus: Is Will Welch — or Pharrell — Opening a Members Club in Paris?

News: The New Canaan Playhouse Has New Operators. This Time, It’s Not Queen Camilla’s Nephew.

The New Canaan Playhouse had celebrities, sold-out weekends, and a bar pouring thousands of beers. What it didn’t have was enough money to make rent.

On February 9, New Canaan officials voted to replace the operator of the historic single-screen cinema, ending the 10-year lease granted in 2022. That lease was held by CinemaLab, run by Luke Parker Bowles, Queen Camilla’s nephew. After months of tense public meetings and roughly $350,000 in unpaid rent, the town selected Bow Tie Partners, a regional operator with decades of experience and steadier finances. Ouch.

Parker Bowles arrived with credentials. He worked in film production in the U.K., was involved with BAFTA in New York, and co-founded CinemaLab with actor Patrick Wilson to revive struggling small-town theaters. In 2022, The New York Times profiled him as a champion of historic movie houses. And to his credit, he did reopen the building.

But the renovation cost roughly $8.5 million, more than twice the original budget. The town was not happy; about $3.25 million of that came from municipal and state funds. CinemaLab reportedly invested around $2 million. When the Playhouse reopened in June 2024, it seemed to pay off. In its first six months, CinemaLab reported nearly $1 million in revenue, more than 21,000 tickets sold, around 3,900 beers poured, and 7,700 popcorns sold. Allison Williams returned for a hometown screening at the theater where her father, Brian Williams, had long been a regular. In December, Richard Gere and Ann Curry appeared for a special event. It felt revived, but record books said otherwise.

The timing was never easy. Just this week, Sarah Harrelson’s Cultured Magazine ran a show of support for indie theaters featuring everyone from Sean Baker to Griffin Dunne. Nationwide box office revenue remains below pre-pandemic levels. Streaming permanently altered viewing habits. A single-screen theater like the New Canaan Playhouse faces a narrow margin for error. Even in a town ranked the ninth wealthiest in the United States.

Noted: Will Welch’s Paris Pivot

Will Welch is officially stepping down from GQ on February 15, ending a nearly two-decade run at Condé Nast to work with Pharrell Williams. Last night, his farewell was marked with a goodbye party thrown by Anna Wintour at Jean’s, a tidy closing scene for one of the magazine’s most visible eras.

Welch’s next move takes him out of publishing and into Pharrell’s expanding cultural orbit in Paris. What, exactly, he will be responsible for has not been publicly outlined.

Two separate informed sources point to at least one possible project. One person connected to members-club circles says Welch has discussed being instrumental in the opening of a potential private members club in Paris. Another source closer to Pharrell cautions, “I believe it’s happening and will happen. I’m not sure [Will Welch] is going to be that involved.” No location has been finalized, and no formal plans have been announced.

Paris’s private club scene is relatively small compared with London or New York. Le Club and Ralph’s Club exist, and there are social hubs like the Library at Hôtel Costes, but membership-based clubs are not nearly as ubiquitous.

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In today’s letter: New Canaan, Will Welch, Queen Camilla, Pharell, members clubs in Paris, Luke Parker Bowles, Sarah Harrelson’s Cultured, Allison and Brian Williams, Richard Gere, Ann Curry, Cinema Lab, private school tuition, Gwyneth Paltrow, Belle Burden’s memoir Strangers, billionaires in Florida, Sandra Bernhard and more.

• If you thought college was expensive, NYC private school tuition just broke $70,000. Yes, really. At this point, kindergarten costs more than most state colleges, and that’s before you factor in the auction paddles, ski weeks, and the unspoken understanding that this is just the entry fee.

• Hollywood is circling Gwyneth Paltrow for the Strangers adaptation. The film adaptation of Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage is reportedly close to landing GP, and if you’ve spent five minutes on Reddit lately, you already know the subreddits are still dissecting Belle’s marriage like it’s a live court proceeding.

• I had no idea that a coworking space just for the top 1 percent existed. Did you? Fast Company reports on a new members-only workspace built specifically for top earners, which means your desk neighbor is guaranteed to make more than you and probably talk about it.

• Billionaires are still betting on Florida. I thought they had moved on and were circling Texas again. But New York Times reports that major business figures including Ken Griffin and Stephen Ross, are continuing to pour money into Florida, treating the state less like a vacation spot and more like a long-term portfolio strategy.

• Sandra Bernhard is checking into The White Lotus. Season four heads to the French Riviera, with Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Coogan, and Chris Messina also joining the cast, but let’s be honest, this instantly became the Sandra Bernhard season.