Star Gazing

Denis and I saw a play this weekend at Central Park. We go every year to Shakespeare in the Park – it’s always a fun production because they always have top names involved. This year is no exception. The production of “Twelfth Night” stars Julia Stiles, Jimmy Smits, Oliver Platt, Kristen Johnston, and Zach Braff. Denis and I saw a production of the same play a couple years ago at Lincoln Center, starring Helen Hunt, Kyra Sedgwick and Paul Rudd, and I must say that I preferred that production a bit better. The staging of the Helen Hunt production was altogether gorgeous, whereas the new production was very stark and not that interesting. Helen Hunt played a better Viola/Cesario than 19-year-old Julia Stiles, who looked much too young to be the amour of a much older CootieGirl, portrayed by a women in her 30s.

But it was still fun to see the play – Oliver Platt absolutely stole the show and he’s now one of my new fake boyfriends. Also fun was seeing what celebrities would be in the audience – and we weren’t disappointed. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were there with their kids, as was Cynthia Nixon from “Sex in the City”. I felt bad for Tom Hanks at one point – after intermission he and his family skedaddled to a private area so they wouldn’t be harrassed. As they were coming back to their seats some schmuck behind him all but threw his cellphone in Tom’s face to have him speak to someone. Wisely, Tom ignored him and continued to shuttle his kids back to their seats.

Now, some might think Mr. Hanks was rude to ignore the guy, but here’s my take on it. If Tom Hanks had been by himself and ignored you, then sure, you might have some issue. But he was there with his KIDS – that night he was just a family man trying to spend some quality time with his wife and kids. And someone tried to horn in and turn it into something else – a schmooze-fest. So I don’t blame Tom for ignoring the guy at all. If I was super-famous and trying to enjoy a quiet night with my family, I would have done the same thing.