A starry 'Spring Awakening'

3:10 PM, October 31, 2008

Annie Wilson, the new kid in town on the CW’s “90210,” may have won the lead role in the high school production of “Spring Awakening,” but the actress who plays her, Shenae Grimes, was nowhere to be seen at Thursday's opening of the Los Angeles production of the Tony Award-winning musical.

But although Grimes, who has become a favorite in the tabloids due to her ultra-thinness and alleged bad behavior on the set, was a no-show, several of her co-stars did make the trek to the Ahmanson Theatre to take in the tuneful celebration of sexual awakening and youthful defiance. Rob Estes, Lori Loughlin, AnnaLyne McCord, Jessica Lowndes and Ryan Eggold circulated in the theater and congratulated the young cast at the pseudo-grungy afterparty in the Center Theatre Group’s parking lot, where guests feasted on burgers served from a diner truck. Other stars chowing down included Allison Janney, who recently finished her Ahmanson stint in the Broadway-bound “9 to 5,” Loretta Devine (“Dreamgirls”), Marissa Jaret Winokur (“Hairspray”) and Laura Innes (“E.R”).

The loud rock score on stage was surpassed in volume by the rapturous audience reception when the play ended. First to leap to his feet was movie and music mogul David Geffen, sitting in a center row orchestra seat near the show’s creators, Steven Sater and Duncan Shiek. Joining in were Taye Diggs (“Private Practice”), Olympic figure skater Sasha Cohen, Jane Seymour (“Wedding Crashers”), Mario Lopez (“Extra”) and Ricki Lake.

-- Greg Braxton

Above: "90210" actors Ryan Eggold, Jessica Lowndes, Lori Loughlin, Rob Estes and AnnaLynne McCord pose during the opening night arrivals for "Spring Awakening" at Ahmanson Theatre.

UPDATE: An earlier version of this post incorrectly identified Jessica Lowndes as her co-star, Jessica Stroup.

At right: Actress Allison Janney.

All photos by Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging.

More pictures below.

"Spring Awakening" cast members actors Blake Bashoff, left, Andy Mientus, Matt Shingledecker, Steffi D, Kyle Riabko, Claire Sparks, Anthony Lee Medina, Christy Altomare, Krystina Alabado and Sarah Hunt during the opening night party.