diana in savannah

Sheet. The setting of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The events that developed around the fascinating characters of ‘The Book’ occurred 30 years ago. But Savannah still delights in larger-than-life people.

In the heart of the Victorian district is Gingerbread House, home to the wonderful musician Diana Rogers. Lavender’s Blue arrived one muggy Sunday afternoon to meet Diana in her kitchen. Exquisitely dressed in oyster pink – hat, long gloves and real shell earrings to boot – she first entertained us with her quips, sugary homemade scones and a glass or two of champagne.

His house is a collector’s paradise. Tables brimming with vintage finds sparkle in the scorching sunlight. Diana is originally from Oklahoma. “All they do there is watch TV and go to church!” she laughs out loud.

Rural life was not for her. A classically trained pianist and singer, her wonderfully intoxicating voice, not to mention her superlative keyboard skills, ensured that she was an instant blues hit in New Orleans. She soon overtook even the capital of jazz and went to the Big Apple.

In New York, Diana deftly launched herself onto the music scene. She played and sang in the best hotels and clubs: Waldorf Astoria, Harry’s Bar, One Fifth Avenue, Windows on the World…

In great demand, Diana enjoyed a long engagement at Nino’s in New York throughout the 1990s. She performed at the Madison Arms in East Hampton during the summer months. Diana was flown to London and Cornwall to perform at private parties. She released a hits album in the late 1990s with ‘I Know Him So Well’, ‘La Vie en Rose’ and her own composition ‘Middle Class Princess’.

In 2003, he decided it was time for a new phase of his life to begin, so he headed for the Deep South. He bought a restored Victorian frame house on East Gaston Street, lined with pink azaleas, in Savannah.

“I still go back to New York every two months,” he confesses. “Last time I was there I spent $2,000 on a hat. But it’s a very nice hat. My wardrobe takes up the entire top floor of the house.”

Diana has fully established herself as a fixture on the Savannah music circuit. She has performed at over a dozen venues and can currently be heard in the basement piano bar of The Olde Pink House. In fact, that’s where Lavender’s Blue first found her. Descending the stairs of the elegant restaurant above, we heard sweet-toned ‘Moon River’ wafting through the heavy night air. Fast forward 48 hours and we’re at her house.

“Come into the living room,” Diana waves. Keeping her gloves on, of course, she begins in a one-woman cabaret show, gleefully making her way through the music of Cole Porter and George Gershwin before celebrating the present with Andrew Lloyd Weber and John Kander.

Diana reveals: “Imelda Marcos’s daughter lives next door. And Jerry Spence, the hairdresser mentioned in The Book, is a frequent visitor. ‘Honey, you can find me on page 47!’ He tells everyone he knows!”

Another neighbor, Patricia, let’s go. “She was big in Washington!” Diana relies on a stage whisper. Diana plays a medley of Johnny Mercer songs. Outside, thunder rumbles in the gunpowder-gray sky. The rain falls hard on the terrace. But it doesn’t dampen the decadent party spirit inside.

Leopold, a large tortoiseshell cat appears at the door of the salon. “She guards the house!” Diana exclaims. The cat was named after her before vets determined her sex. “My worker, Mr. Tiles, has the build of Tarzan! He was upstairs working when I wasn’t there and he called me to say, ‘I can’t go downstairs! Your cat won’t let me in!’ Anyway, he had to jump out the bedroom window and slide down the porch roof!”

As we say our goodbyes in the late afternoon, Diana’s phone rings. More guests arrive. The party is just beginning. A competing cacophony of church bells and thunder breaks out, but it goes unnoticed, drowned out by the echo of laughter, the clinking of glasses and Diana upping the tempo with ‘All That Jazz’.