John Lithgow (Patrick McMullan)

It’s opening night for the Broadway show in which we’re, selfishly, most interested—how could your humble nightlife correspondent not jump on a Broadway premiere about a newspaper columnist? The titular writer of The Columnist played in national politics, not the subtler politics of a night on the town; John Lithgow plays kingmaker Joseph Alsop, today forgotten by the younger journos (hey, we can barely remember what Maureen Dowd wrote last week!). We’ll come for Mr. Lithgow’s performance—we hope we get leftover scenery in a doggie bag when he’s done noshing on it!—but we’ll stay for Grace Gummer, Smash costar and progeny of, yes, Meryl Streep.

Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 West 47th Street. Tickets through Telecharge at 212-239-6200.

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