NEED TO KNOW
- Jesse Tyler Ferguson tells PEOPLE that his Modern Family costar Sofía Vergara flew to New York City to see him perform in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night
- Ferguson reveals Vergara “texted me out of the blue, saying, ‘I think I’m going to be in New York, can I get a ticket?’ ”
- At the Twelfth Night preview show on Aug. 16, Vergara joined Ferguson’s husband, Justin Mikita, and 5-year-old son, Beckett
Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Sofía Vergara are BFFs!
Vergara, 53 — who starred alongside Ferguson, 49, in Modern Family — flew to New York City to see him perform in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater.
At the play’s opening night on Aug. 21, Ferguson exclusively tells PEOPLE that Vergara “texted me out of the blue, saying, ‘I think I’m going to be in New York, can I get a ticket?’ Of course I helped her.”
The Griselda actress came to the Aug. 16 preview showing alongside Ferguson’s husband, Justin Mikita, and their 5-year-old son, Beckett Mercer.
“My husband just broke his foot and Sofía just had knee surgery. So, the two of them bringing a 5-year-old into the park was hilarious,” Ferguson says, adding that he sent “a golf cart to get them to the theater.”
The Dinner’s on Me podcast host then says, jokingly, about the situation, “Beckett was the one I was the least worried about.”
Nonetheless, Vergara — who shared in July that she underwent a second procedure for her knee on Instagram — enjoyed the outing.
“She loved the show,” Ferguson says. “I assumed she was in town to do other things and she just happened to be here to see me, but no, she flew in to see this. She’s a good friend.”
Ferguson posted a photo of Vergara, himself and friend Dan Levy backstage at that preview showing on Instagram on Aug. 17, with the caption, “Had some special folks in the audience of 12th night last night, including my 5-year-old, for his first Shakespeare, who told everyone he met, ‘Isn’t it crazy my papa is in this show, and he’s my papa?!!’ ”
Vergara also gushed about her trip to the play, writing on Instagram, “You [were] amazing @jessetyler 👏👏 what an amazing show!!”
The two starred in the hit sitcom Modern Family from 2009 to 2020.
Aside from son Beckett, Ferguson also shares younger son Sullivan “Sully” Louis with Mikita.
Twelfth Night isn’t Ferguson’s first go at Shakespeare in the Park. The actor starred in previous productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Comedy of Errors and The Tempest. He also won a Tony Award in 2022 for his turn in the Broadway revival of Take Me Out.
As for his long relationship with the Delacorte Theater, Ferguson says it’s in better shape than ever, following a two-year renovation.
“The thing I got most excited about were the new bathrooms. They were so bad earlier. The dressing room had the air of a dungeon. There were cinder block walls and it just wasn’t a nice place to hang out,” he admits.
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The play follows twins Sebastian and Viola, played respectively by real-life siblings Junior Nyong’o and Lupita Nyong’o, as they “survive shipwreck, revenge plots, and the trick doors of love,” per a synopsis.
The production, directed by Saheem Ali, also stars Sandra Oh, Peter Dinklage, Daphne Rubin-Vega and more.
Shakespeare in the Park’s Twelfth Night runs through Sept. 14.
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