Inside a Buzzy Opening-Night Fete for Illinoise’s Broadway Transfer

Though the Broadway season ended with a madness-inducing crunch of 12 openings over 9 days in April, a very special show did a very welcome thing and held its gala premiere over a week after securing its four Tony nominations. Illinoise, the Sufjan Stevens-inspired brainchild of choreographer Justin Peck, announced a hasty Broadway transfer from a series of smaller runs without enough time for the typical preview period, officially opening with its unassuming first performance: a Wednesday matinee.

The tender dance piece, which Peck co-wrote with Pulitzer-winner Jackie Sibblies Drury, has earned all-around raves, and the breathing room afforded from all party-hopping last month paid off. Less than 24 hours after the Met Gala, attendees poured out of the St. James Theatre and into the Times Square Edition’s Paradise Club for a glitzy, ever-at-capacity opening celebration.

Recently-minted It Boy Mike Faist was posted up in the dark hallway leading to the main room, talking with a friend and West Side Story co-star Rachel Zegler—Peck choreographed the 2021 film—while entertaining the hordes of young women angling for his attention. When introduced to Ashley Gill, the crimson half of the skyrocketing TikTok comedy duo, “A Twink and a Redhead,” he dove deep into the legislation that might soon drive her to Reels.

With Peck acting as the New York City Ballet resident choreographer for nearly a decade, Illinoise cast members partied alongside dancers from many of the city’s dance organizations, like NYCB soloist Gilbert Bolden III. DJ K Styles spun over the dance floor and guests like Julianne Hough, Zach Braff, and Carole Radiziwill waded through servers carrying sliders and surprisingly tasty flaxseed cookies and made use of the open bar.

Other partiers included Jay Armstrong Johnson, Arielle Jacobs, Maria Friedman, Nico Greetham, and Cory Michael Smith. John Cameron Mitchell and playwright David Adjmi – whose Stereophonic opening night party rivaled this one in terms of actual fun – mingled in the venue’s balcony, making room for the show’s lead, Ricky Ubeda, to greet revelers in his stunning red matador outfit. “We never made this to be a commercial, money-making machine, we just made the thing that we wanted and then ended up here,” he told Vogue. “I think it’s a testament to what can happen when there’s a lot of heart involved.”