Gardens Variety

The Broadway production of Grey Gardens, the musical about the eccentric Beale family, opened last night at the Walter Kerr Theater. Not surprisingly, it was one of the glitziest events of the new season. The show’s stars, Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson, earned rapturous reviews, and they were all smiles during the show’s after-party at the Central Park Boathouse.

Though there was a wintry chill in the air, the Grey Gardens cast reveled in their warm reception. Here’s Broadway newcomer Erin Davie, who shines as “Little Edie” in Act I…

…handsome Matt Cavenaugh, who convincingly plays both the sophisticated Joe Kennedy in Act I and the not-too-bright teen handyman Jerry in Act II…

…and the ever-invaluable John McMartin, who gives a superb performance as the blustery Major Bouvier.

Here’s the show’s brilliant costume designer, William Ivey Long, with Lee Bouvier Radziwill, who is played in the show by young Kelsey Fowler.

Among the many Grey Gardens first-nighters were Rosie and Kelli O’Donnell…

…comedian Denis Leary, star of TV’s Rescue Me, with his wife, Ann….

…the wonderful Dana Delany, who appears on the NBC drama Kidnapped…

…the lovely Laura Bell Bundy, who will return to Broadway in the spring as Elle Woods in the musical Legally Blonde…

…and the veteran stage, film, and television star Anne Jeffreys.

On Monday, October 30, the 11th Annual SAGE Awards were presented at the Ritz Carlton in Battery Park City. Entertainment was provided by the dynamic Melba Moore, who blew the house down with three numbers, including a rendition of “I Got Love” as a memento of her Tony Award-winning turn in Purlie.

That same night, lots of cabaret notables came to Birdland for Jim Caruso’s Cast Party. Here’s the affable host (far right) with the talented Billy Stritch and the one-and-only Julie Wilson.

Here’s a trio of terrific Cast Party guests: Singers Natalie Douglas, Annie Hughes, and Devlin.

On Tuesday, October 31, TV favorite Lorenzo Lamas made his cabaret debut at Feinstein’s at the Regency. After the show, entitled Lorenzo Sings About Love, the man of the hour partied with his mother, film star Arlene Dahl; the club’s namesake, singer Michael Feinstein; and the delightful Joan Rivers.

On Wednesday morning, November 1, the stars and creative team of the Roundabout Theatre Company’s upcoming revival of The Apple Tree — Brian d’Arcy James, librettist-lyricist Sheldon Harnick, Kristin Chenoweth, composer Jerry Bock, Marc Kudisch, and director Gary Griffin — briefly met the press. We can’t wait to take a bite of this show!