The evening was Applegate's first performance in the show since she broke her foot during the out-of-town tryouts of the musical revival. The performance also marked the actress' Broadway debut. After the final bow, O'Hare, who plays Oscar, presented Applegate with flowers and made the following speech to the cast and the enthusiastic audience: "This has been an incredible journey for all of us. I can't tell you how long it's taken to get here. There are many, many, many extraordinary things about this evening — one of which is this is Christina Applegate's Broadway debut. [Loud and long cheers.] The thing about Christina is that she's not just an outsider who came to Broadway to use Broadway to further something. She has become a member of the Broadway community, and she did that through an incredible amount of determination and grit. We have never, any of us, seen anybody earn their stripes like this girl has."

Louder and longer cheers followed, as Applegate appeared to weep tears of joy.

Sweet Charity will officially open at the Hirschfeld Theatre May 4.