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The theater glitterati came out in force for DKC/O&M P.R. guru Rick Miramontez and John Gore’s famed annual Tony Awards afterparty at the Carlyle from Jessica Chastain to Ben Platt to. . . Aaron Rodgers?
The NFL star went viral earlier in the night when a camera pan caught him looking confused in the audience of the Awards show.
“Aaron Rodgers looks either mystified or like he’s having a revelation,” said one social media user.
“Aaron Rodgers at The Tonys is like Nathan Lane at The ESPYS,” said another.
But we hear Rodgers actually had a great reason to attend.
The quarterback was seen mingling at the party telling people he’d had a blast at the show and that he had come to support his teammate, Jets tight end C.J. Uzomah, who is producer on the Broadway play “Ain’t No Mo.”
Uzomah was heard telling guests he grew up doing theater as a kid, while Rodgers was saying he has only seen his buddy’s show and “Wicked.”
Rodgers, who was just signed with the Jets in April, is taking advantage of city life. He was overheard saying how cool it is that he saw Ed Sheeran one night, and then was at the Tony’s the next.
The party — which drew newly minted Tony winners Bonnie Milligan of “Kimberly Akimbo” and “Leopoldstadt’s” Brandon Uranowitz, as well as bold-faced theater names like Lily Rabe and Jeremy O. Harris — is maybe the one place in the city where Rodgers could be somewhat incognito.
“I don’t think most people know who he is,” said one party goer.
Another had been told by a pal that Rodgers was a Jet, and upon seeing him they realized football.
“Yeah, not ‘West Side Story,'” said the friend, referring to members of one of the rival gangs in the hit musical.
Rodgers gabbed happily with theater folks and took picture with new pals past 3:30 a.m.
Tony Award Lifetime Achievement winner Joel Grey, his daughter Jennifer Grey, Annie Murphy, Michael Arden, Alex Newell, Rachel Brosnahan, Brian D’Arcy James and more were also spotted at the swanky party that rage till 5 a.m.
Meanwhile, on the Tonys stage, Michael Arden, who won for Best Direction of a Musical for “Parade,” had part if his speech bleeped out when he proclaimed, “Growing up, I was called the F-word more times than I can remember, and now all I can say is that I’m a f****t with a Tony.”
He told the crowd, “To our beautiful trans, nonbinary, queer youth, know that your queerness is what makes you beautiful and powerful.”
And non-binary performers also took home awards: Harrison Ghee from “Some Like It Hot” and Alex Newell from “Shucked.”
“Into the Woods,” producer Jordan Roth, who oversees the Jujamcyn Theaters, told us, “It was the gayest Tony’s ever and I am so here for it. I loved it.”
