Photo Coverage: THE MERCHANT OF VENICE Gala Arrivals

Last night, June 21, The Public Theater hosted its annual gala, this year honoring sponsors Bank of America and Bernard Gersten. THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, running in repertory with THE WINTER'S TALE, gave a special performance as part of the gala event. BroadwayWorld celebrated with The Public's friends and supporters and brings you coverage of gala arrivals below.

Gala attendees included longtime Public advocates Meryl Streep, Susan Sarandon, Sam Waterston, James Gandolfini, Vanessa Williams, Liev Schreiber, Naomi Watts, Zach Braff, Lucy Liu, Neil Patrick Harris, Kathleen Turner, Kate Walsh, Lea Michele, Jonathan Groff, Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper, Willem Dafoe, Amanda Peet, Jane Krakowski, Josh Lucas, Aidan Quinn, Edie Falco, Nora Ephron, Kyle McLachlan, Gloria Reuben, Audra McDonald, Sarah Paulson, RosAnna Scotto, Bill Irwin and Linda Emond, in addition to Rena DeSisto, Global Arts and Culture Executive, Bank of America; Bernard Gersten, Executive Producer, Lincoln Center Theater; Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; and Public Theater Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson.
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, directed by Daniel Sullivan, began performances for Shakespeare in the Park on Saturday, June 12. The Public Theater began Shakespeare in the Park performances of A Winter's Tale, directed by Michael Greif on June 9. Both shows will play in repertory through Sunday, August 1 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE company features Happy Anderson, Gerry Bamman, Francois Battiste, Liza J. Bennett, Tyler Caffall, Cary Donaldson, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Luke Forbes, Bryce Gill, Shalita Grant, Jade Hawk, Bill Heck, Tia James, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Byron Jennings, Kelsey Kurz, Heather Lind, Hamish Linklater, BrIan MacDonald, Dorien Makhloghi, Jesse L. Martin, Nyambi Nyambi, Al Pacino, Lily Rabe, Matthew Rauch, Joe Short, Richard Topol and Max Wright.

Tickets to Shakespeare in the Park are free and are distributed, two per person, at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park at 1 p.m. the day of the show. This summer, The Public Theater will again offer free tickets through Virtual Ticketing, available at www.shakespeareinthepark.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.