Plus One Party Report: Shakespeare in the Park’s 50th Anniversary Gala

What? The Public Theater’s Annual Gala, this year celebrating Shakespeare in the Park’s 50^th Anniversary at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park with a star-studded reading of Romeo and Juliet; June 18, 2012

Where? The Delacorte Theater where we froze during the reading; The lawn outside the theater, where we warmed up with snacks and booze.

With whom? Oskar Eustis, Gail Merrifield Papp, Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Christine Baranski, Christopher Walken, Raul Esparza, Michael Stuhlbarg, David Harbour, Jesse L Martin, Joe Morton, David Pittu, F Murray Abraham, Sandra Oh, Bill Irwin, Jeffrey Wright, Phylicia Rashad, John Cullum, Jerry Stiller, Chelsea Clinton, Julianna Margulies, Steve Martin, Lily Rabe, Hettienne Park, Tony Kushner, Kathleen Turner, Stephen Spinella, Diane Sawyer, Mike Nichols, Cynthia Nixon, Bobby Cannavale, Ethan Hawke, Laura Linney, Julia Stiles, Suzan-Lori Parks, David Furr, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Kacie Sheik, Paris Remillard, Josh Lamon, Crystal A Dickinson, Gideon Glick, Corey Michael Smith… Oh fuck it, you guys, ALL THE FAMOUS PEOPLE.

Talking points:

• The paparazzi nearly took out a dozen or so people in their aggressive pursuit of Julia Stiles as she attempted to make her way from dinner to Gate 1 to be seated for the reading. Because apparently Julia Stiles is still that famous?
• You always know Chelsea Clinton is around when there’s Secret Service milling about.
• Oskar Eustis won Quote of the Night with the following badassery: “There’s no wrath like the wrath of God… or Meryl Streep, as we call her in this theater.”
• It seems sacrilegious to complain, when it could have been raining or sweltering, but the night air was so cool we were actually freezing our butts off in the theater. Pretty sure that in their entire 50 years at the Delacorte the Public has never had such robust sweatshirts sales at intermission.
• Star of this summer’s As You Like It, David Furr, was at the Gala with his wife and they looked so cute and in love I almost died of jealousy. Also, HIS EYES UP CLOSE YOU GUYS. Stunning.
• You know what else is a… (wait for it… Joe Papp joke incoming…)  free for all at Shakespeare in the Park? The intermission rush to the ladies restroom. To file under: Proof Even Beautiful/Famous People Have to Wait in Line for the Potty—Margulies, Julianna.
• Not even going to lie, I almost fell off my platforms when we walked up the path to the after-party and straight into Tony Kushner. Not sure how he ended up amongst us mere mortals for even a second, but definitely glad I managed to keep my cool. Mostly.
• The party was even more rocking than usual—lots of young people, free-flowing booze and a DJ will do that—spread out on the lawn near the theater, where Christmas lights and rice paper lanterns were strung up between the trees. The bellinis and cheesecake bites were amazing, too (culinary priorities in order, right here). Sadly, there were no Streep/Kline/Pacino sightings for us. Apparently there was a whole ‘nother after-party happening backstage for the über-famous. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall there.

Credit: Joseph Marzullo; The Craptacular