Patti LuPone, Neil Patrick Harris, Ricky Martin, and the Best Broadway Photos of December

From the Broadway openings of The Anarchist and Golden Boy to Gypsy of the Year and Chicago‘s landmark 6,681st performance, December was a busy month as the theater world ushered out a great year.

December also featured Roundabout Theatre Company’s benefit reunion concert staging of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s musical, Assassins. We enlisted cast members Anne L. Nathan (currently of Once) and Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch (9 to 5) to steal us some great shots backstage, and they provided plenty of ‘em!

Here are our choices for the best photos the last days of 2012 had to offer.

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December 2: Patti LuPone and Debra Winger snuggle close together at the opening night after party for David Mamet’s The Anarchist.
(© Tristan Fuge)

December 3: The cast of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s musical Assassins gets ready for a busy day of rehearsal before the evening’s big reunion concert event.
(© Marc Kudisch)

December 3: Cast member Denis O’Hare (Charles Guiteau) proudly presents baby Trevor, an prop that was cut from the musical’s 2004 production.
(© Marc Kudisch)

December 3: Assassins player Alexander Gemignani gets into character as the Jodie Foster-obsessed John Hinckley, Jr.
(© Marc Kudisch)

December 3: Ensemble members Anne L. Nathan and Sally Wilfert get close backstage at Studio 54.
(© Anne L. Nathan)

December 3: Co-stars Jeffrey Kuhn (Giuseppe Zangara) gazes adoringly at cast mate Mario Cantone (Samuel Byck).
(© Anne L. Nathan)

December 3: Alexander Gemignani tunes up his guitar, which he plays on stage as John Hinckley Jr., who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in order to capture the attention of actress Jodie Foster.
(© Anne L. Nathan)

December 3: The view of Assassins rehearsal from off-stage at Studio 54.
(© Anne L. Nathan)

December 3: As the cast rehearses on stage, percussionist Larry Lelli stops for a photo break with production sound designer Dan Moses Schreier.
(© Anne L. Nathan)

December 3: Alexander Gemignani, Mario Cantone, Neil Patrick Harris, Michael Cerveris, James Barbour, Annaleigh Ashford, and Denis O’Hare gun down Broadway in Roundabout Theatre Company’s benefit concert reading of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s Assassins at Studio 54.
(© David Gordon)

December 3: Neil Patrick Harris gives our camera a little love after Roundabout Theatre Company’s Assassins reading at Studio 54.
(© David Gordon)

December 3: After their successful concert presentation of Assassins, Neil Patrick Harris unwinds with his co-stars, our photographers for the evening, Anne L. Nathan and Marc Kudisch. (Kudisch called this one “Afterparty Glow for an awesome night,” and we couldn’t agree more!)
(© Marc Kudisch)

December 4: With Katie Holmes and Chita Rivera looking on, Ricky Martin and cast members from Broadway’s Evita celebrate their Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraising total of over 4,000.
(© Tristan Fuge)

December 4: Debra Monk, David Hyde Pierce, and Michael McCormick perform “Show People” from Curtains as a musical tribute to late songwriter Fred Ebb during Gypsy of the Year.
(© Tristan Fuge)

December 4: Evita youngsters Mavis Simpson-Ernst and Ava DeMary join their co-star, Rachel Potter, to perform her song “Live the Dream,” at Gypsy of the Year.
(© Tristan Fuge)

December 4: Original West Side Story cast member Harvey Evans proves he still has what it takes to be a Jet in the opening number of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ annual Gypsy of the Year.
(© Tristan Fuge)

December 4: The Gypsy of the Year company displays Broadway’s beloved Gypsy robes as part of the opening number at the annual Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS event.
(© Tristan Fuge)

December 4: Original costars Lee Pace and F. Murray Abraham are unafraid to show off their affection at the opening of Manhattan Theatre Club’s Golden Age. (Abraham was later replaced in the production by George Morfogen.)
(© David Gordon)

December 4: Holiday Guys Marc Kudisch and Jeffry Denman rock out on stage at the York Theatre at a meet-and-greet for their show, The Holiday Guys in Happy Merry Hanu-Mas.
(© David Gordon)

December 6: The stunning Yvonne Strahovski and the dashing Seth Numrich celebrate their opening night of Broadway’s Golden Boy.
(© David Gordon)

December 6: Golden Boy cast member Danny Burstein is joined by his lovely wife, Rebecca Luker (Mary Poppins), to celebrate his opening night.
(© David Gordon)

December 6: The dashing Patrick Wilson is on hand to celebrate his wife, Dagmara Dominczyk’s, Broadway opening in Golden Boy.
(© David Gordon)

December 9: George Takei gives us a smile at the opening of off-Broadway’s Bare.
(© Miguel Munguia)

December 9: Bare star Missi Pyle is grateful for the support of her longtime pal, Christina Moore.
(© Miguel Munguia)

December 9: After performing for two hours on stage, the cast of off-Broadway’s Bare goofs off at the musical’s opening night party.
(© Miguel Munguia)

December 9: Brooke Adams helps adjust her husband, Tony Shalhoub’s, tie before he is honored at the 2012 New York Stage and Film gala on December 9.
(© David Gordon)

December 9: Annie star Lilla Crawford shows off her pretty red dress at the New York Stage and Film gala.
(© David Gordon)

December 9: Steve Guttenberg is prepared to let his photographer pals stand under his umbrella (ella, ella, ay, ay) at the New York Stage and Film gala.
(© David Gordon)

December 9: Saturday Night Live veterans Cheri Oteri and Colin Quinn celebrate her off-Broadway opening in NEWSical.
(© Michael D’Angora)

December 15: Julia Mattison and Jeremy Morse perform the funniest version of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” that we’ve ever heard during the Fifth Annual Joe Iconis Christmas Spectacular.
(© David Gordon)

December 10: Chita Rivera and Stephanie J. Block share a hug after laying down a track for the upcoming cast album of Broadway’s The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
(© David Gordon)

December 10: The Mystery of Edwin Drood star Will Chase gives us his best rock star look while recording a track from the musical’s upcoming cast album.
(© David Gordon)

December 10: Andy Karl gets into the spirit of the music while recording the cast album of The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
(© David Gordon)

December 11: Forbidden Broadway family members David Caldwell, Marcus Stevens, Jenny Lee Stern, Scott Richard Foster, Gerard Alessandrini, and Natalie Charle Ellis sign copies of the show’s new cast recording at the famed Drama Book Shop.
(© William Selby)

December 12: The on stage team of Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Chris Bauer celebrate their opening night in Atlantic Theater Company’s What Rhymes With America.
(© David Gordon)

December 12: Composer/lyricist Joe Iconis teaches Krysta Rodriguez a new song in preparation for the annual Joe Iconis Christmas Spectacular at 54 Below.
(© David Gordon)

December 15: Molly Hager sings an earth-shattering rendition of The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York” during the Fifth Annual Joe Iconis Christmas Spectacular at 54 Below.
(© David Gordon)

December 15: At the conclusion of the Fifth Annual Joe Iconis Christmas Spectacular at 54 Below, cast members Jason “SweetTooth” Williams and Krysta Rodriguez revel in the indoor snow fall.
(© David Gordon)

December 17: Twisted Sister front man Dee Snider rocks out on stage at 54 Below to promote his concert, Dee Does Broadway and Holiday Favorites.
(© David Gordon)

December 17: In a New York rehearsal studio, Judd Hirsch and Tom Cavanagh go through a scene from the upcoming Los Angeles production of Freud’s Last Session.
(© David Gordon)

December 18: Dylan Baker proudly shows off a bouquet of flowers and a card he brought for his wife, Becky Ann Baker, upon her off-Broadway opening in The Great God Pan.
(© David Gordon)

December 18: At the opening night party for The Great God Pan, Becky Ann Baker presents the festival holiday decorations at Heartland Brewery.
(© David Gordon)

December 19: Broadway’s Nice Work if You Can Get It welcomes Blythe Danner to the company at the Imperial Theatre.
(© David Gordon)

December 19: The principals of Broadway’s Nice Work If You Can Get It, including Matthew Broderick and Kelli O’Hara, singing the show’s grand finale.
(© David Gordon)

December 20: A Christmas Story, The Musical cast members John Bolton, Dan Lauria, and Johnny Rabe pose for photos outside the Nasdaq building, where they rang the opening bell.
(© H.E. Yhoman)

December 20: Chicago stars Amy Spanger, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Amra-Faye Wright celebrate the Broadway musical’s milestone 6,681st performance.
(© David Gordon)

December 20: Chicago cast member Carol Woods tastes the delicious sheet cake during intermission of their 6,681st Broadway performance.
(© David Gordon)