PartyLines- photographs by Patrick McMullan

You're setting Shakespeare’s sonnets to music. Do you have a lot in common with the Bard? “Being of the fairer sex, as in gay, I understand that longing for impossible love.” —Rufus Wainwright

—Isabella Rossellini

What did you do this summer? “I was working in Spain. I was interning at Cosmo. It was fun. It was in Spanish.” —Amanda Hearst

—Beth Rudin DeWoody

What’s your impression of the Hamptons? “It's like a beautiful, beautiful movie set with no wires and no street lights.” —Daniel Knox

—Daphne Guinness

Do you karaoke at all? “I love to go to karaoke. I’m the listener.” —Hana Soukupova

—Marisa Bregman

You’ve written about the Reagans. Are the McCains or the Obamas a more interesting couple? “The Obamas. I'll always go with youth and beauty behind closed doors.” —Bob Colacello

—Lisa de Kooning

Did you staycation or vacation this summer? “I just got back from Africa. Botswana, Ethiopia Kenya. Had the best, best time.” —Calvin Klein

—Stacy Engman

Is there a New Yorker you’d like to have dinner with? “The mayor. If I had him to dinner, he would be too polite not to listen to me.” —Jessye Norman

—Jörn Weisbordt

Do you sing at all? “I appreciate singing.” —Lisa Anastos

—Luigi Tadini

What artist would you bring back from the dead? “Ella Fitzgerald. I was once supposed to make an opera with Ella Fitzgerald for the Metropolitan Opera. Never happened. They said it wouldn't be right for their audience.” —Robert Wilson

—Barbara Goldsmith

Do you sing at all? “Not in the normal sense.” —Terence Koh

—Kate McGarrigle

Are you as politically inclined as your brother Rufus? “Politics is hard — I judge a lot of things on an emotional level. I haven’t written a great political song.” —Martha Wainwright

—Dalia Oberlander

In honor of Labor Day, what’s the best or worst job you’ve ever had? “I could never get a job. That was my problem.” —Steven Klein