Photos: AVA: THE SECRET CONVERSATIONS Celebrates Gala Opening Night

Following a run at The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, AVA: The Secret Conversations, written by and starring Elizabeth McGovern just made its New York premiere at NY City Center, Stage I. Check out photos from inside the opening night gala celebration below!

The production, directed by Tony Award nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel and produced by Karl Sydow, will also feature Aaron Costa Ganis.

At the height of the Golden Age of Cinema, starlet Ava Gardner sat for a series of interviews with writer Peter Evans for him to glean the juicy details about her life story, her marriages to Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, and Frank Sinatra, and her turbulent relationship to Howard Hughes. Initially barred from publication, Evans’ account of a bygone era was published twenty-five years later with permission from Gardner’s estate and is now reimagined on stage.

With AVA: The Secret Conversations, McGovern returns to the NY stage for the first time since 2017. Best known for her role as Lady Cora in the “Downton Abbey” series and films, McGovern will be seen this fall on screen in the sequel, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. She also stars in Anne Rice’s “The Talamasca” on AMC this fall.

Photo Credit: Bruce Glikas