Intelligencer

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Clinton at intermission.

By Melena Ryzik
Published Jul 9, 2006

(Photo: Sebastian DeRung/Reuters)

Though he moved too quickly for any photographers to catch him, Bill Clinton (Chelsea in tow, Hillary MIA) was indeed in the opening-night audience for Macbeth at Shakespeare in the Park, upstaging the likes of Steve Martin and Meryl Streep. He duly shook hands and signed programs for his numerous fans (Tom Hanks’s greeting was “Hey, Boss, how are you?”), but Clinton wasn’t his usual political self. No official sound bites or photo ops were allowed, and even Naomi Watts barely got to talk with him (though they did exchange some pleasantries about her boyfriend Liev Schreiber’s performance as the lead). When Chelsea gobbled concession-stand ice cream with boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky, the former president, red-faced, sweaty, and clad in a yellow shirt and salmon-colored tie, looked more than a little envious. “Nice tie!” an onlooker yelled. “Ah, yes, my bright tie,” Clinton said with a grin. “I like bright ties. You know, when you reach a certain age, all you’ve got left is bright ties and bullshit.”