Aside from Jefferson Mays who was playing the part at the time, Waterston pere was also the only Duke at The Duke on opening night. He did the role back in 1976 in a Shakespeare in the Park production where Meryl Streep, as Isabella, found a real-life fiancé in the two-faced Angelo (the late John Cazale).

"The first thing he said to me when I told him I was doing Isabella in Measure for Measure — he said, 'Oh, you have Meryl's part," Elisabeth relayed with a laugh at the Gallagher’s after-party. "That, of course, gave me an instant heart attack."

The evening's Angelo, Rocco Sisto, has seen three versions of Measure for Measure — including, most lastingly, the '76 edition. "I saw the very last performance of it," he remembered. "You know, when they say, 'It's just the park, and your lives don't change,' I always say, 'You're out of your mind. I saw a production, and my life changed.' That was just an amazing production! It's one of those moments in your life when you think, 'This is what I want to do with my life.'"

— Harry Haun