New York, June 28, 2006 – Anyone taking a leisurely stroll in Central Park on Wednesday evening must have thought they’d stumbled onto a greener, sweatier, less well-dressed Oscar ceremony. But they weren’t hallucinating; Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jessica Lange really were traipsing through the grass to get to the Public Theater’s summer gala. The evening marked the opening night of the Public’s Shakespeare in the Park, featuring Liev Schreiber in Macbeth.

Everybody thought she was still in Australia, but Naomi Watts joined her man, Liev, at the gala. She wouldn’t talk (to us, anyway) about her friend Nicole Kidman’s wedding to Keith Urban, but despite the long trip Watts was very relaxed, if a bit shiny thanks to the humidity. Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates came along, and Liev introduced Naomi; they hadn't met before.

Also causing gaper blocks along the park trails: Steve Martin, Alan Alda, Candice Bergen, director Sydney Pollack and playwright Tony Kushner. Rachel Weisz dashed in at the last moment, just in time for the play, and boy, she is slim for someone who gave birth just one month ago!

Hot and sticky as the evening was, Tom Hanks put it in perspective: “It’s a beautiful night for Shakespeare”, he said.