Nurse Jackie Premiere

Last night I was lucky enough to be invited to Showtime’s Nurse Jackie premiere party. I’ve been looking forward to the show since we first heard about it, so I was really psyched. I dragged Lisa along as my plus one, and we had the BEST TIME. I’ll get this out of the way right now — they screened the first two episodes and we loved them. Edie Falco is fantastic, and the show dives deep into the very dark comedy that Showtime really excels at lately. You can watch the first episode online right now, and the show premieres on Monday, after Weeds. After the jump, I unabashedly dish about the party.

I’ll tell you this right off the bat — I’ve never attended a screening or party like this before. It was all new to me (and Lisa), so I was completely starstruck. I had access to the red carpet, but didn’t bother with it, as I wasn’t really prepared to do interviews. Without being on the carpet, though, I couldn’t get any photos, either, and didn’t want to photograph anyone at the party.

The screening itself turned out to be a little bit of a clusterfuck. The turnout was much bigger than expected, and at one point they ran out of tickets. My name was on the list, though, so we waited patiently and it all worked out. Right before the screening started, we darted in and I snagged two great seats a few rows back from the front. The place was loaded with celebrities, and I was trying desperately not to look at the man sitting next to me because I was afraid that he might be famous and then I’d blush or do something stupid. THIS IS WHAT IT’S LIKE TO LIVE IN MY HEAD, PEOPLE.

A few minutes after we sat down, Lisa took my notebook, scrawled something in it, and handed it back. It said, “You are sitting next to Elias Koteas.” And I immediately started uncontrollably laughing, because when I told Nicci & Maggie I was going to this event, they completely freaked out over the fact that Mr. Koteas would be in attendance. What are the odds I’d end up sitting with him? BTW, if you don’t know who he is, you actually do. Although he works constantly, he’s best known in our hearts for being the guy in Some Kind of Wonderful who says to Eric Stoltz, “This is what my girlfriend looks like without skin.” Swoon! For what it’s worth, Mr. Koteas really enjoyed the screening, and is one of those guys who laughs after everyone else is already finished. And I totally let him have the armrest. Also in our row? Kate Spade. She stepped on my feet as she was sitting down, but it was ADORABLE.

Because I am a total dork, I wrote down every celebrity we rubbed elbows with last night. Check it:

• Edie Falco
• Peter Facinelli (Mr. Kelly Taylor!!)
• Julianna Margulies (with a gorgeous guy)
• Aida Turturro
• Harvey Fierstein
• LL Cool J
• Victor Garber
• Bobby Cannavale
• Caroline Rhea
• Steve Buscemi
• Daphne Rubin-Vega (tiny!)
• Swoosie Kurtz (I DIED)
• Donna Karan
• B.D. Wong
• Eli Wallach
• Aasif Mandvi (from The Daily Show)
• Dick Cavett (we sipped cocktails at the same table for a while)
• Richard Jenkins
• Frank Decaro (we talked about cupcakes and muffins)
• Maulik Pancholy
• Anna Deavere Smith
• and assorted model types and whatnot

The afterparty was at the Parker Meridien. Swank! It was really fun, but crowded. We met some nice people. I have to hand it to Lisa — I get very shy and reserved in these types of situations, but Lisa will chat up anyone. She was complimenting the writers on the show, saying hello to everyone, striking up conversations…thank heavens she was there. After circling the party for a while, we sat down and met a very nice couple. She writes for Variety and he makes documentaries, and after we talked for a while, it casually came up in conversation that our new friend Ross happened to be an Academy Award winner. WHAT? Way to bury the lead, dude. If I had an Oscar, I’d walk around with it hanging from my NECK. Anyway, Ross and Addie, if you’re reading this, it was really nice to meet you and hopefully we’ll run into each other again sometime.

So all in all — great night! Lisa and I took FULL advantage of the open bar. They served theme cocktails and there was food, but we never made it through the crowd to get to the slider station. I regret that, as they looked fantastic.

And lastly, the party had a photo booth. Do you love us? I do.

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