They rained on Julia’s parade
The New York critics weren’t particularly kind to Julia Roberts when she made her Broadway debut Wednesday night in a revival of “Three Days of Rain.”
“As mesmerizing as she is on-screen, she has surprisingly little stage presence,” said the Daily News.
Offered the New York Post: “Hated the play. To be sadly honest, even hated her. At least I liked the rain – even if three days of it can seem an eternity.”
A more measured New York Times reviewer concluded: “That she does not do well – at least not by any conventional standards of theatrical art – is unlikely to lose Ms. Roberts any fans, though it definitely won’t win her any new ones among drama snobs.”
Opening night was more like a movie premiere, with hundreds of people packing the street outside the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre to watch a parade of stars arrive.
“I’m so excited!” exclaimed Oprah Winfrey before dashing inside.
Oh, who’s kidding whom?
Tom Cruise‘s co-stars are finding it difficult, if not impossible, to promote the upcoming “Mission Impossible III” in his absence following Tuesday’s much-ballyhooed birth of his daughter with Katie Holmes.
“It’s just like it’s a fairy tale,” Keri Russell said of the couple. “You’re watching these archetypes. You’re watching them and you’re trying to find connections with your own life, and those are two very accessible people.”
Countered Ving Rhames: “There’s gonna be a bill passed sooner or later that’s gonna draw a line. We have to just think about, ‘What have we become? Why is all of this fuss over another human being?’ “
Big, but not easy
Brad Pitt, expecting his own celebrity baby with Angelina Jolie, is seeking proposals for an environmentally friendly design competition he’s sponsoring to rebuild parts of New Orleans devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
Pitt is teaming up with Global Green USA, a national environmental organization. Six finalists are scheduled to be selected in July.
Landing a park place
Billionaire developer Donald Trump is donating 436 bucolic acres in New York City’s northern suburbs for a new state park that will be named for – you guessed it – Donald Trump.
The Donald J. Trump State Park includes land valued at an estimated $100 million.
Today, I am a man – in black
A 13-year-old Israeli boy got a bit of a surprise when Will Smith crashed his bar mitzvah Thursday during a visit to Jerusalem’s Western Wall.
Atir Cohen was deep into his Torah reading when he heard shouting and saw girls pushing against the barrier separating men from women at the holy site.
The “Men in Black” star compensated for the interruption by shaking the youth’s hand and posing for a picture with him.
The birthday bunch
Actor Charles Grodin is 71. Singer Iggy Pop is 59. Actor Tony Danza is 55. Actress Andie MacDowell is 48. Singer Robert Smith (The Cure) is 47. Actor-director John Cameron Mitchell (“Hedwig and the Angry Inch”) is 43.