Out & About
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Bad Shakespeare in Central Park would be great. But great Shakespeare? What a fantastic night,” real estate developer Joseph Rose said after the opening night performance of “Macbeth.” The play had ended, and Mr. Rose and a few hundred others had climbed up to Belvedere Castle for the cast and crew party, an event full of Falstaffian mirth for those who could handle the humidity.
It was the final act in what may be the best New York party of the year, opening night at the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park. It had started in broad daylight on the lawn outside the Delacorte Theater, where, at around 6 p.m., 850 famous, rich, and powerful people gathered for a fund-raising gala that brought in $1.6 million. Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline accepted awards and congratulated the Public Theater’s leaders – executive director Mara Manus, artistic director Oskar Eustis, and board chairman Warren Spector.
Then there was the transition to the performance of “Macbeth,” where President Clinton, Mayor Bloomberg, and Susan and Donald Newhouse had some of the best seats in the house. At intermission, Julianna Margulies bought a glass of white wine and Tom Hanks stretched his legs out with a quick walk around the theater.
The play ended at the fashionable hour of 11 p.m., which left plenty of time for the party up at the castle. Candles guided guests up the path, as did waiters who passed out Champagne, Lemon Drops, and Cosmpolitans.
The party hit its groove when the actor who played Macbeth, Liev Schreiber, arrived with his girlfriend, Naomi Watts, and settled into a chat with Ethan Hawke on the north side of the castle. On a stretch of stone wall near the desserts, meanwhile, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rosie Perez, and Fisher Stevens held court. At 1 a.m., Ms. Margulies was smoking a cigarette while lighting technicians and ticket takers danced nearby. Others feasted on sandwiches and 50-pound veal roasts catered by Hudson Yards.
Actress Lynn Cohen praised her dresser, Christina, who takes her to porter from weird sister in three minutes. And how she loves playing the porter. Each night the spotlights go on different audience members as she discusses who may be knocking on the door. “Bill Clinton was two rows behind the spotlight tonight,” she said. “You never know who’ll turn up.”
Next in the scene, Macduff, played by Sterling Brown, arrives, and she gets to deliver the famous speech about drink making a man “stand to, and not stand to.”
“It’s so wonderful to have the porter be a woman, because she’s the one who knows all about that. And it’s wonderful to play the scene with such a hot man,” Ms. Cohen said. Actress Ryan Michelle Bathe thinks he’s hot too: She’s marrying Mr. Brown on June 9, 2007, she said.
The production’s costume designer, Michael Krass, said that the amount of blood spilled influenced his choice of costumes. “I don’t have anything to do with the washing, but generally, we avoid natural fabrics,” he said. So Jennifer Ehle’s beautiful purple gown – inspired somewhat by Evita and even Laura Bush – is polyester.
