Kaia Gerber, Cindy Crawford, Jennifer Lopez, Uma Thurman, and More Toasted George Clooney on Good Night, and Good Luck’s Opening Night

Fittingly, many of America’s top broadcast journalists also gathered at the show. From Gayle King, George Stephanopoulos, and Jake Tapper to Lesley Stahl, Rachel Maddow, and Chris Wallace, they marveled at Clooney’s sincere dramatization of Murrow’s tangles with McCarthy and gave Clooney a standing ovation at the end of the program.

The cast of Good Night, and Good Luck

Photo: Andy Henderson

Following the curtain call, guests moseyed down to the landmark New York Public Library for an opulent, black-and-white-themed after-party. A classic jazz ensemble provided a mid-century sensibility as impeccably dressed partygoers sipped on Champagne and martinis and were treated to lobster rolls, mini cheeseburger sliders, and cherry tomato tartines.

Clooney was the first of his cast members to arrive. (He was out solo, as his wife, Amal, stayed behind with their seven-year-old twins.) Guests immediately swarmed him, showering the actor with praise. (To Kaia’s compliment, Clooney charmingly replied, “I’ve seen your play, and now you’ve seen mine,” referring to her performance in Will Arbery’s Evanston Salt Costs Climbings at the Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles earlier this year.)

“What I most admire about George is that he’s still willing to take risks and not rest on his laurels,” Cindy Crawford told Vogue at the party. “Obviously, he’s a huge movie star, and he didn’t have to put himself out there to do a Broadway play, and also a play with a point of view that really aligns with his personal political views. I think in this day and age, that takes a lot of courage.”

At one point, Rachel Zegler came over to Clooney to say hi, after which he slowly zigzagged through the crowd to meet with Michael J. Fox and his wife, Tracy Pollan, and then Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels. Soon, Lopez arrived in her cloud-like cape with her sister Lynda, a journalist. Lopez and Clooney exchanged hugs and posed for a picture.

The evening also marked a memorable reunion for Clooney with his former ER costars Julianna Margulies (who recently appeared on Broadway herself, in Delia Ephron’s Left on Tenth), Anthony Edwards, and Noah Wyle. He greeted each of his old colleagues with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “It was fantastic. The whole thing,” Margulies said to Clooney of his performance. The four huddled together and socialized until Clooney shouted to a nearby photographer, “Somebody take this picture, it’s not often we are all together!” The friends happily posed for a group shot before disbanding to let Clooney mingle with other guests.

Moments after catching up with Clooney, Wyle told Vogue that he’s in awe of Clooney’s bravery for centering his values in his work.

“It takes tremendous courage to take the creative and personal risks that he does and to back things that he thinks are important,” said Wyle, who presently stars in the hit medical drama The Pitt. “He certainly didn’t have to go on stage tonight in front of everybody and speak these important truths. He’s probably going to be vilified for it, and he knows it, and he did it anyway. There are so few people with that moral courage around.”

Around 11 p.m., Clooney left the party. As he was making his exit, an acquaintance asked how he felt performing. “I was petrified,” he said while laughing. “I still have nine more weeks to get over it.”