An hour before curtain, Oscar Diaz and his fiancée Janelly Mendoza both look a little shell-shocked as they’re being ushered onto the stage of the Delacorte Theater, the Central Park home of Free Shakespeare in the Park.
“I’m Francis,” says actor Francis Jue. Tonight, he not only plays Friar Lawrence in the Public Theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet — he’s also going to be the officiant at Mendoza and Diaz’s real, legal wedding.
The couple, who have known each other since they were children, live in Laredo, Tex. — that’s where they met the Public’s associate artistic director Saheem Ali.
Ali was in Laredo because his Romeo and Juliet is set at the U.S. Mexican border. In it, Romeo’s family is Latino; Juliet’s family supports the border patrol. Ali wanted to see for himself the wall there that separates the two countries.
Mendoza and Diaz “introduced me to the culture,” Ali says. And they told him about a special ritual in border cities. A Mexican citizen and a U.S. citizen will marry on a bridge— each standing in their own country — with an officiant in the middle.
“So I thought, ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be beautiful to actually have a real wedding at the end of the play to mirror Romeo and Juliet’s wedding?'” Ali says. “That marriage didn’t get to see the future. But if we had a real couple who we married at the end, and they got to go into the future, it just gives us all some hope.”
He mentioned the idea to Mendoza and Diaz at the time — they just brushed it off.
“Just regular people like us don’t do that stuff, you know?” Mendoza says. “But then Saheem messaged us. And then it’s like, ‘Okay, it’s happening!'”
This is Diaz’s first time in New York; Mendoza came once before, when she was 8. They filled their days before the show with all the touristy things — Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square.
Just two months ago, they met Ali. Now they’re about to be married on stage.
But they’re not the only couple to get married at Shakespeare in the Park this summer. There’s a real wedding, or vow renewal, after every performance this summer: 32 in all.
“One of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received was being asked to [officiate these weddings],” Jue says. He adds that, in this time of deep divisions in America, “that strangers come together for a communal experience in the theater . . . is a modern miracle. And we reflect that back to the audience every show by actually marrying a couple.”
After Romeo and Juliet concludes, Jue asks for the audience’s attention as Mendoza and Diaz make their way back onto the stage. He’s wearing a brown blazer and cowboy boots. She’s in a long ivory dress and sparkly shoes.
“Romeo and Juliet didn’t get their lifetime together,” he says. “But tonight, there is a couple who came all the way from the border wall at Laredo, Texas, who would like to commit to their lifetime together with all of you as their witnesses.”
Mendoza and Diaz kneel and face each other and say their vows. The audience explodes.
After, the couple are glowing as they show off their rings and sign the wedding license. “I’m going to make sure you stay married,” Ali jokes, after he signs as a witness.
“It’s real now,” Mendoza says, smiling.
“Is it what you imagined?” someone asks.
“Better!” she says.
This story was edited by Luis Clemens for broadcast and digital. Eleana Tworek mixed the audio.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding guest list is gaining more star power … ’cause TMZ has learned Sombr has scored an invite to the couple’s big wedding celebration.
Sources familiar with the guest list tell us Sombr is expected to attend the July 3 celebration at Madison Square Garden — the massive event we’ve told you about that’s separate from the actual wedding ceremony.
The singer’s invite makes sense … Sombr and Taylor have become close in recent months, and they were even spotted together after a Knicks game in New York. He also performed for Taylor earlier this month at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Not only did Sombr snag an invite for the wedding celebration of the century, but he also snagged a bro-hug from Travis himself at the HOF induction.
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We’re told the admiration goes both ways … Taylor’s praised his songwriting talents, while Sombr has long been a fan of her work.
As for whether he’s bringing a plus-one? That’s still up in the air. But one thing’s clear … he’s got a golden ticket to one of the hottest invites in town!!!

“The Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Pinky Cole’s finances were revealed as part of her ongoing bankruptcy … and it looks like she’s on a tight budget.
Pinky, who is known for her line of Slutty Vegan restaurants, listed her monthly income as $6,000 in the proposed plan of reorganization she recently filed in her case … according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ.
In the plan, Pinky said she would budget $200 on children’s expenses, $800 on groceries, $80 on gas, $300 on medical, $1,574 on Georgia state taxes, and $1,343 on federal taxes … which would leave her with $1,500 per month in disposable income.
The reality star filed for Chapter 11 in February to deal with her debts.
As TMZ first reported, as part of the bankruptcy, Pinky claimed one creditor had improperly seized one of her rental homes … but she was able to get the keys to the place back until at least the Chapter 11 is finalized.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Burrows, who helped create volumes of laughter as director of more than a thousand episodes of such classic television comedies as “Cheers,” “Taxi,” “Friends” and “Will and Grace,” died Friday. He was 85.
His family confirmed his death in a statement to People, saying he “passed away peacefully today surrounded by his family.” No location or cause of death was provided.
Burrows spent his career behind the camera specializing in situation comedies. Few viewers recognized him or knew his name, other than to see it flash quickly on the screen in the opening credits. But they knew his work.
Burrows got his start in television relatively late at age 35 in 1974, directing episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Bob Newhart Show,” and “Laverne & Shirley.”
He cocreated “Cheers,” directing 243 of the 273 episodes, as well as all 246 episodes of “Will and Grace.”
He also helmed multiple episodes of such hits as “Frasier,” “Friends” and “Mike & Molly,” and the pilots of “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory.”
Sweet spot of script, performance and chemistry
“When I direct a television show, I try to reach that sweet spot where the best script meets the best performance and the best chemistry between performers,” Burrows wrote in his 2022 memoir “Directed by James Burrows.” “Hitting that exact moment, where these factors land in combination, results in the sweetest and most enduring laugh.”
His family said, “Burrows understood that great comedy was never simply about laughter. It was about humanity, connection, and truth. That understanding became the foundation of a career that forever changed television.
“But beyond his remarkable achievements, Burrows will be remembered for something even greater: his kindness, generosity, and unwavering belief in the people around him. He possessed a rare ability to make everyone better and was known for remembering every person he met by name, making colleagues at every level feel seen, valued, and appreciated,” the family statement said.
The majority of Burrows’ shows aired on NBC, whose “Must See TV” slogan promoted its Thursday night lineup in the early 1990s that included “Friends” and “Frasier.”
“Jimmy Burrows was the man behind the curtain. He knew how to make us laugh, what buttons to push and was the absolute master of getting the most out of every joke,” NBC said in a statement. “His loss to the television comedy world is immeasurable. Every time you have a smile on your face watching ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show,’ ’Taxi, ‘Cheers,’ ‘Will & Grace,’ ‘Friends’ and countless others, think of Jimmy and know he made all our lives funnier.”
Following in his father’s path
Born James Edward Burrows on Dec. 30, 1940, in Los Angeles, he moved to New York when he was 5 years old. He spent five years in the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus until his voice started to change. He attended LaGuardia High School of Music & Art.
His father was writer, director and producer Abe Burrows, whose Broadway hits included “Guys and Dolls” and “Can-Can.” The elder Burrows also mentored Larry Gelbart, future creator and producer of the TV show “M(asterisk)A(asterisk)S(asterisk)H.”
The younger Burrows spent hours of his youth in theaters and studios watching his father work, dining with him at such famed New York haunts as Sardi’s and Gallagher’s and meeting celebrities who attended his father’s New Year’s Eve parties.
After earning a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College, Burrows attended the graduate program of the Yale School of Drama, where his classmates included actor-comedian Robert Klein, playwright John Guare and film director John Badham.
At Yale, he was required to take directing classes and he got hooked.
Burrows’ first sitcom experience was as Burl Ives’ dialogue coach on “O.K. Crackerby!” which was directed by his father and ran for one season on ABC in 1965.
From there, he was an assistant on “The Patty Duke Show.” He moved back to New York and worked for Broadway producers Lee Guber, Frank Ford and Shelly Gross. He first met actor Moore while working on the Broadway production of “Holly Golightly,” an adaptation of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” that was directed by his father.
Burrows eventually worked as a stage manager for various road productions, where he met such actors as Hugh O’Brien, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Julie Harris.
Catching a break with Mary Tyler Moore
By 1974, after working in dinner theater and summer stock, he turned on his television and saw Moore’s eponymous TV show. He wrote her a letter asking if there was any opening “small or smaller” at her production company that he could fill, according to his memoir.
Moore’s husband and business partner, Grant Tinker, invited Burrows to Los Angeles to direct an episode of the comedy. He apprenticed for MTM Enterprises, which had four sitcoms on the air at the same time.
Burrows cited his theater background for learning how to give actors direction and block out scenes. He’s credited for being one of the first sitcom directors to increase the typical multicamera television shoot from three to four cameras.
The common thread between Burrows’ shows were the bonds between friends and unrelated families, whether it was the motley crew of regulars meeting at the bar in “Cheers” or the drivers working toward a better life in “Taxi” or the 20-somethings sharing the same apartment building in “Friends.”
“The best sitcoms transcend the screen and reach out and grab the audience by the throat and by the heart,” Burrows wrote in his memoir.
Actors Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman worked with Burrows over 16 seasons between “Taxi” and “Cheers.”
“He was the very best at his craft. His positive spirit, boundless energy, and tireless work defined what it takes to run a show and keep people laughing,” they said in a statement. “He will always be in our hearts.”
Burrows relished discovering new acting talent while directing more than 75 pilots that were picked up as series.
“Having directed over a thousand shows means that almost any night you can turn on your television or go online and find a show that I directed. I’m very proud of that,” he wrote in his memoir.
In 2019, Burrows was an executive producer on live productions of “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons” with famous actors re-creating episodes of those 1970s comedies.
“Jimmy was the greatest comedic television director in the history of the medium,” his agent Rick Rosen said in a statement. “He directed the most iconic, defining shows of generations. Always a gentleman, it was an absolute honor to represent him.”
Burrows was married in 1997 to Debbie Easton, whom he met when she worked as a hairstylist on “Frasier.” Daughters Kat Schatzow, Ellie Gluck and Maggie Burrows, who followed her father into directing, are from his first marriage to Linda Solomon, who died in 2004. His stepdaughter Paris is from his wife’s previous marriage. He has a sister, Laurie Burrows Grad, and seven grandchildren.

Daveigh Chase’s mother, Cathy Chase, revealed her stunned reaction to her daughter’s death in an emotional new interview.
“I was devastated. It felt like something inside of me squeezing all of the air out of me, and at the same time, It felt like I was exploding outwardly,” she told the Daily Mail in comments published on Friday.
She told the outlet that after hearing about her daughter’s death on Tuesday at age 35, she was in disbelief.
“I let out this guttural scream and I just was running,” she recalled. “And these weird sounds were coming out of me, these kind of, like, primeval sounds.”
“And I went out into the backyard, and I was screaming, “No, no, no, no!” I am in so much pain but I hope her soul heard me,” she said.
Cathy told the outlet that on Tuesday evening — the day before news of the “Lilo & Stitch” star’s death emerged — she’d been searching online forums for clues of where her “sunshine” daughter might be, something she’s done on a nightly basis.
“The Ring” actress and her mother had not seen each other since 2019. Cathy, who lives in Los Angeles, told the outlet that she’d frequently check the LA County Medical Examiner’s system for her daughter’s name, as well.
“I would look at their list of unidentified bodies,” Cathy divulged. “It was very difficult, but you do everything you can as a mother.”
When TMZ broke the news that the “Spirited Away” voice actress — who had reportedly been living near Los Angeles’ infamous Skid Row — had died after battling meningitis and a blood infection leading to sepsis, Cathy confessed she thought it was “fake news.”
“But then all of a sudden, it’s all of these different legitimate sites had her name and I realized that it wasn’t fake,” she shared.
The grieving mother identified her daughter’s body on Thursday at a Los Angeles hospital, and prayed with a chaplain while “touching the glass” because it was “as close as we could get.”
“It was a beautiful experience, and, and I feel very blessed, too, have been able to share that with my daughter.”
Cathy told the outlet that her daughter’s problems began in 2016, when she was injured in a motorcycle accident and began taking painkillers.
After that, Cathy said the “Big Love” actress was “seeking drugs and was partying with the wrong people,” and said despite rumors, she “never kicked [her] daughter out.”
“She wanted freedom and these people got her hooked on some drugs,” Cathy claimed. “That was the beginning.”
Cathy said she’d last seen her daughter during a jail visit after she faced two counts of alleged burglary in 2019, describing Daveigh as “completely gone, like out of her mind.”
“I honestly thought there was something wrong with her,” she recalled. “My daughter was never diagnosed with mental health other than PTSD. But the drugs took hold of her.”
Cathy claimed she had an agreement to pick up Daveigh when she was released from jail, but her daughter “never waited. She went back to the streets and I couldn’t find her,” she said.
The bereaved mom said it “upsets”. her that “people are saying I must’ve been a bad mother,” but insisted she “never gave up” on the “Donnie Darko” actress.
“As a mother, you don’t give up on your child. I was hoping she would still come home,” she said.
Just prior to her death — which was first reported by TMZ — Roy Hernandez, a man claiming to be Daveigh’s boyfriend, set up a fundraiser for the actress.
But the actress’s former manager, John Ryan, cast doubt on the fundraiser’s legitimacy, telling The Post on Wednesday that “apparently, a man claiming to be her ‘boyfriend’ that none of us friends or her family has heard of has set up a GoFundMe on ‘her and her families behalf’ that he set her up as the organizer.”
He added, “I can confirm Daveigh has a trust account set up at SAG to cover all costs.” Hernandez, meanwhile, insisted to TMZ that anything gained from his fundraiser would go toward a “proper memorial” for Daveigh.
Ryan — who also said he’d attempted to locate the troubled actress prior to her hospitalization for malnutrition and subsequent death — also claimed the actress left behind millions in residuals.
Ryan told the outlet that Daveigh was “too far gone” on illicit drugs to claim the funds, despite his attempts to get in touch.
Almost ten years prior to her death, Daveigh shared her final Instagram post — a grainy photo of her standing next to a unicorn balloon in Los Angeles in 2017.