Among the starry guests of honor were (top, left to right) Brian Murray, Marian Seldes, Kevin Conway and (bottom) Christine Ebersole. Seldes, Conway and Ebersole were all taking their cues from the play's director Gerald Gutierrez (kissing Ebersole's cheek).

A soapy comedy-drama (and later a famous M-G-M picture), George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber's Dinner at Eight tells overlapping stories of guests invited to and preparing for dinner at Millicent and Oliver Jordan's. She's neurotic, he's losing his fortune, and their daughter is having an affair with a depressed, faded matinee idol who is just a trigger pull away from oblivion.

Seldes replaced Dorothy Loudon in the early previews when the latter fell ill. In 1999, Seldes memorably stepped into another LCT Gutierrez revival, Ring 'Round the Moon, taking over for an ailing Irene Worth.

Other guests at the Dinner include Byron Jennings, Mark Lotito, John Dossett, Enid Graham and Mark Lotito. Performances continue to Jan. 26, 2003 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater.

Photos by Aubrey Reuben