Scene Last Night: Geoffrey Rush, Hugh Jackman, James Cramer, Claire Danes
Just after midnight, the theater- reviewing deejay duo Andrew Andrew mingled, their iPads in hand. Music selections included “Everywhere” by Fleetwood Mac “because we’ve been stalking Geoffrey.”
That would be Geoffrey as in Geoffrey Rush, the star of “Diary of A Madman” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, who was on the other side of the BAM Cafe. The occasion: A cast party and fund-raiser honoring the production. The Thursday night event drew 500 guests and raised $750,000, said BAM spokesman Joe Guttridge.
The evening started with dinner that included a quail egg and attracted actors Hugh Jackman and David Hyde Pierce; Merrill Tisch, New York State Board of Regents Chancellor; Jeffrey H. Barker, New York City market president at Bank of America and Therese Esperdy, head of global debt capital markets at JPMorgan.
Then it was off to the show, where Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Saarsgard and Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy awaited Rush, who spends the wild evening preening, sipping soup and fancying himself the King of Spain.
As part of his antics, Rush, nearly naked, ran up a side of the theater, right in front of James Wolfensohn, former president of the World Bank.
Red Tuft
Costumed with a wayward tuft of bright orange hair and blue-green eye makeup, Rush made an impression on two red-heads in the audience: Croc-wearing chef Mario Batali and James Cramer, host of CNBC’s “Mad Money.”
Rush’s “stream of non sequiturs reminded me of me,” said Cramer.
By the time the coffee urns had come out for the cast party, the crowd included Federico Ysart, chief operating officer of the Santander Central Hispano investment section, who danced, and Erich Mauff, managing director of capital market treasury solutions at Deutsche Bank.
In deference to the Australian origins of the production, bartenders kept busy serving Coopers beer and shiraz and chardonnay from Robert Oatley vineyards.
Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, is BAM’s 2011 spring season sponsor.
(Amanda Gordon is a writer and photographer for Muse, the art and leisure section of Bloomberg News. Any opinions expressed are her own.)
To contact the writer on this story: Amanda Gordon in New York at agordon01@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.
BAM Theater
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Geoffrey Rush and Yael Stone, stars of "The Diary of a Madman," at their cast party.
Geoffrey Rush and Yael Stone, stars of "The Diary of a Madman," at their cast party. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
BAM Theater
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Hugh Jackman and New York City Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Kate Levin.
Hugh Jackman and New York City Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Kate Levin. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
BAM Theater
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Jeffrey H. Barker, New York City market president of Bank of America, and Wendy Barker, a consultant on senior care.
Jeffrey H. Barker, New York City market president of Bank of America, and Wendy Barker, a consultant on senior care. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
BAM Theater
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Dianne Hurley and Therese Esperdy, head of global debt capital markets at JP Morgan.
Dianne Hurley and Therese Esperdy, head of global debt capital markets at JP Morgan. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
BAM Theater
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
AndrewAndrew, theater reviewers and party deejays.
AndrewAndrew, theater reviewers and party deejays. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
BAM Theater
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Antonio Herrera, a lawyer; Joanna Smith, who works at Estee Lauder; Sarah Owens, curator of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden Cranford Rose Garden; and Federico Ysart, chief operating officer of Santander Central Hispano investment section.
Antonio Herrera, a lawyer; Joanna Smith, who works at Estee Lauder; Sarah Owens, curator of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden Cranford Rose Garden; and Federico Ysart, chief operating officer of Santander Central Hispano investment section. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
BAM Theater
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James Wolfensohn, former head of the World Bank, and Elaine Wolfensohn.
James Wolfensohn, former head of the World Bank, and Elaine Wolfensohn. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
BAM Theater
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Mario Batali, chef and mastermind of Eataly, Babbo and other restaurants, with Susie Cahn.
Mario Batali, chef and mastermind of Eataly, Babbo and other restaurants, with Susie Cahn. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
BAM Theater
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Brian Hargrove and David Hyde Pierce.
Brian Hargrove and David Hyde Pierce. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
BAM Theater
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Michael A. Steinberg, managing partner and portfolio manager of Steinberg Asset Management LLC, and Joan Steinberg.
Michael A. Steinberg, managing partner and portfolio manager of Steinberg Asset Management LLC, and Joan Steinberg. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
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