Theater News

Simply for Simon

Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lucie Arnaz, Michael Berresse, Colman Domingo, Jennifer Ehle, Katie Finneran, Penny Fuller, Charles Grodin, Dick Latessa, and Lin-Manuel Miranda salute Neil Simon.

New York City

On Monday night, the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center bestowed its annual Monte Cristo Award to playwright Neil Simon, who attended with his lovely wife, Elaine Joyce.

Guests at the Rainbow Room’s Radio City Suite included Hollywood golden couple, Oscar winners Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Simon’s longtime producer Emanuel Azenberg caught up with actress Lucie Arnaz — who starred in Simon’s They’re Playing Our Song and Lost in Yonkers — and her talented husband Laurence Luckinbill.

Michael Berresse, director of the Broadway-bound [title of show], was joined by cast members and co-creators Susan Blackwell, Heidi Blickenstaff, and Jeff Bowen.

Colman Domingo, one of the standout stars of the Broadway musical Passing Strange, came by on his night off.

Tony Award winner Katie Finneran, who starred on Broadway in Simon’s Proposals, was a welcome addition to the festivities.

Two-time Tony Award winner Jennifer Ehle will soon be seen on the big screen in Before the Rains.

Actor and playwright Charles Grodin — who came to big-screen fame in the Simon-penned film The Heartbreak Kid — knows a thing or two about being funny.

Thomas Kail, director of the hit Broadway musical In the Heights, was another of the evening’s luminaries.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, the writer and star of In the Heights, is generating plenty of Tony Award buzz.

Finally, here’s two of Broadway’s most beloved stars: Tony winner Dick Latessa, who has starred in many of Simon’s plays, and Penny Fuller, who starred in the original Broadway productions of Barefoot in the Park and The Dinner Party.