It Takes Courage

The new star seems right at home on stage during his curtain call!

Among the many celebrities on hand to share in the big occasion was the beautiful Spanish film star Penelope Cruz.

Recording legend Clive Davis greeted Usher’s godfather, Tony Award winner Ben Vereen, outside the theater.

Talk show host (and Oprah’s best pal) Gayle King was happy to be there…

…as were Chicago producers Fran and Barry Weissler, who were all smiles.

And, last but not least, here’s Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad.

The previous night, August 21, was another memorable moment in theater history: the official opening of the Shakespeare in the Park production of Mother Courage and Her Children starring Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline. Not surprisingly, tons of stars were on hand to witness the event, including Ethan Hawke, who returns to Broadway this fall in The Coast of Utopia.

Also making the scene was the wonderful Amy Irving, who will co-star with Hawke in The Coast of Utopia.

Here is the delightful Carol Kane, on her night off from playing Madame Morrible in Wicked.

Legendary fashion designer Calvin Klein was among the first-nighters.

So was Emmy Award winner S. Epatha Merkerson, a fixture of the long-running TV series Law & Order.

The great opera singer Jessye Norman added glitter to the festivities.

The always ebullient Rosie Perez, who’s performed at The Public, was another happy-to-be-there first nighter…

…and so was the cool-as-can-be Jimmy Smits, who himself has performed at the Delacorte as Orsino in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.