By Harry Haun
08 Oct 2008

It was a starry, starry opening-night: Chita Rivera and Stockard Channing, The Rink link together again if fleetingly; Scott Ellis, who roller-skated in The Rink and now directs; Les Liaisons Dangereuses' Jessica Collins; composer Maury Yeston whose Death Takes a Holiday has been reportedly dated for Roundabout for next fall; Gay Talese; Shrek helmsman Jason Moore; giddy Julie White; another Julie — Dale — with husband Jim, a good Joe Egg Tony nominee for Roundabout; Anne Kaufman Schneider; playwright Nicky Silver, who also worked 42nd Street this fall with his Three Changes at Playwrights Horizons; Jayne Atkinson and son; Barbara Walters; Margaret Colin, who co-starred seven years ago in Roundabout's Speaking in Tongues ("I'm just gossiping on 'Gossip Girl' now," she updated); Hallie Foote and her director, Michael Wilson, fresh from Dividing the Estate rehearsals; Byron Jennings; playwright Warren Leight, whose Tony-winning Roundabout play, Side Man, is getting an original-cast benefit reading Nov. 10 at New World Stages; choreographers-directors-and-best friends Kathleen Marshall and Rob Ashford, Urinetown author Greg Kotis who's telling The Truth About Santa Claus (his latest opus) and a turbaned Jessye Norman.

	Jayne Atkinson, Chris Noth, Cynthia Nixon, Lily Rabe and Jill Clayburgh, Barbara Walters, Kate Jennings Grant, Julie White, Byron Jennings, Katie Finneran and Darren Goldstein, Warren Leight, Jay O. Sanders and Kathleen Marshall
	photos by Aubrey Reuben

Jill Clayburgh and Lily Rabe struck their mother-daughter poses for the paparazzi. The latter has just finished a TV pilot — on the advice and example of Mom, who is raking in a lot of "Dirty Sexy Money" these days. . . . Another flash-popping frenzy was set off when Cynthia Nixon and Chris Noth, late of the much-lamented "Sex and the City," hit the red carpet at the same time. He heads the show Hughes is now directing at the Atlantic Theater Company, Farragut North. . . . Harvey Evans, escorting Barbara Cook as usual, said he's embroiled pretty heavily, if behind the scenes, in the salute to choreographer Jack Cole happening Oct. 13 at 7:30 at Symphony Space.

Roundabout's last Sir Thomas More (from East 17th St.), Philip Bosco, opted not to attend, having been there, done that and got the XL T-shirt, but sent his lovely other-half, "Pinkie," and their granddaughter, catchily called Jenna Bosco, a looker and stage-bound. . . . Elaine Stritch, in her Stanley Steamer scene-stealing get-up, and her publicist of 50-plus years, Liz Smith, missed connections at the door but united at their seats inside. . . . Improbably, pianist Cohsan Nveyen came with producer Brian Grazer, hair spiked in the extreme, looking like he'd just stepped out from the hair dryer at Young Frankenstein. On Dec. 5, Grazer will release the much-anticipated "Frost/Nixon," his (and director Ron Howard's) perpetuation of Langella's 2007 triumph and an equally brilliant portrayal of David Frost by Michael Sheen.

Director Hughes had his distaff support-system — mom (actress Helen Stenborg) on the left, fianceι (actress Kate Jennings Grant) on the right — well in place. "I was really thrilled," said Stenborg, even if she did say so herself (a mother's prerogative), "and I just kept thinking how pleased Doug's dad, Barney [Tony-winning actor Barnard Hughes] would have been. I thought it was just a terrific production, everything about it. I don't know if I can be truly objective, but I think I can."

Grant made no pretense at objectivity. She just finished being Bette in The Marriage of Bette and Boo and has a movie with Catherine Zeta-Jones coming out next year called "The Rebound." Of imminent interest: "I'm in 'Frost/Nixon' with Mr. Langella, playing Diane Sawyer. I saw a screening Frank had last week. It's extraordinarily gripping. Those are two incredible performances that are going to be recognized later in the year, I have a funny feeling. It translates so well to the screen." One Herculean hurdle right off is that Peter Morgan expanded his play of 13 characters five-fold. Among the new additional characters is Pat Nixon, played by Patty McCormack, the original Rhoda of "The Bad Seed," and, insists Grant, "she's fabulous!"

Page's wife, actress Paige Davis — she lets me call her by her married name, Paige Page — caught a preview performance earlier because she had a wonderful reason for missing his Broadway opening: She had one of her own, replacing Kathryn Hahn as Gloria, the American stewardess in Boeing-Boeing. "It was crazy," she gushed rather windedly, "I mean, the play itself is crazy. It's a very fast train, and you just have to get on and hope you stay on. Some of that's good because your co-stars are helping to lead the way — they've all been doing it for quite a while — but some of it's bad because they're going much faster than feels comfortable at any given moment for me. Happily, I wasn't alone. Rebecca Gayheart also opened tonight. She went in for Gina Gershon tonight as Gabriella the Italian. Missi Pyle and Gregg Germann went in a few weeks ago." Of the original cast, only Christine Baranski and Tony-winning Mark Rylance remain at their posts.

Jay O. Sanders was able to make the opening to support wife Maryann Plunkett's work as the play's almost forgotten woman, Mrs. More — primarily because he's on a film roll now: "I'm doing one in Boston right now with Mel Gibson called 'Edge of Darkness,' and I have one opening Dec. 26 with Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio called 'Revolutionary Road.'"

Winslet's son in "Finding Neverland," Freddie Highmore, is "the young Lonny Price" that the old(er) Lonny Price found for his all-caps title role in the film version of Athol Fugard's Tony-nominated play, MASTER HAROLD . . . and the boys. Ving Rhames of "Pulp Fiction" will play one of the lower-case (Danny Glover and Zakes Mokae in the original 1982 play). Price directed Glover in the 1982 Broadway revival, and this will mark his feature-film debut as a director. "The rest of the cast will be South African actors," he said, naming no names. "I'm going over the casting next week. Filming stars in November, and Nelle Nugent is going to be one of the producers."

Another Jay — actor-comedian Jay Russell, who just wrapped up a mass of characters at the Irish Rep in the manic, mini-scaled Around the World in 80 Days — said he was headed to Long Wharf for more of the same, but first: "I'm also doing a show at NAMT about Lucy and Desi called The Cuban and the Redhead. We started rehearsals this morning for it." It will be presented at New World Stages at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre's 20th annual festival Oct. 20 and 21. Then he heads for Long Wharf to join Drew McVety and Guy Atkins for the world premiere of a Paula Vogel play called A Civil War Christmas, directed by Wig-Out's Tina Landau. "I play Abraham Lincoln, among other roles," crowed the long and lanky actor. "It's about Christmas in 1864, right before Lincoln gets assassinated. It's about my relationship with Mary Todd Lincoln, who's a little bonkers. It should be fun."

Hangar 1, the official opening night vodka of Roundabout, provided a fruity little concoction for the party called "Sir Thomas More-tini." After three or four of them, you go to the bar and say, "Please, sir, can I have More?"

The cast of A Man for All Seasons at curtain call.
photo by Aubrey Reuben

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