It was another manic Monday night in Manhattan, with celebrities downtown, uptown, all around the town. Bette Midler’s Restoration Project had its seventh annual spring picnic at the Toyota Children’s Learning Garden on East 11th Street. Among the stars who joined the Divine Miss M were Boeing-Boeing star Bradley Whitford and the legendary singer Tony Bennett.
Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth — who performed on Tuesday at Lincoln Center as part of the New York Philharmonic’s Broadway Showstoppers concert — dressed for the occasion.
2008 Tony nominee Olga Merediz looked far more glamorous than she does on stage as Abuela Claudia in In the Heights.
The 2008 Obie Awards (see news story) were held slightly further west on 11th Street, at Webster Hall. Among the presenters were Merediz’s In the Heights co-star, the lovely Priscilla Lopez.
Jonathan Groff — who played his final performance in Spring Awakening on May 18 and starts rehearsals shortly for the Public Theater’s production of Hair — was another presenter.
Kate Mulgrew received an Obie for her performance in the Signature Theatre production of Charles Mee’s Iphigenia 2.0.
Lisa Gay Hamilton was another Obie recipient for her work in Theater for a New Audience’s production of Adrienne Kennedy’s Ohio State Murders.
Broadway at Birdland continued its tradition of presenting some of Broadway’s brightest stars on Monday, as Mara Davi debuted her new show Dreaming Wide Awake.
Nearby, Second Stage Theatre celebrated the opening night of the new drama, Good Boys and True. Here are stars Betty Gilpin, J. Smith-Cameron, and Kellie Overbey.
Christopher Abbott and Brian J. Smith star as private school buddies — and sometime lovers — who get caught up in a scandal.
Lee Tergesen (far right), who plays Coach Russell Shea, had a reunion with his former Oz co-star Dean Winters after the performance.
Smith-Cameron’s good friend Matthew Broderick was among the opening night guests.
Victor Garber, whose TV series Eli Stone has been renewed for a second season, was another first-nighter.
Manhattan Theatre Club held its annual Spring Gala at the New York Hilton, featuring performances from some of this year’s biggest musicals. Here’s Elizabeth Stanley and James Snyder as the star-crossed lovers in the Tony-nominated Cry-Baby.
Finally, here’s 2008 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award winner (and Tony nominee) Laura Benanti and co-star Leigh Anne Larkin in their costumes from the celebrated revival of Gypsy.
