Odds & Ends

I called a friend who mentioned a week ago that he couldn't understand why Reese Withersppon was married to Ryan Phillipe and didn't think they'd last. I told him to sit down rather dramatically so he knew the news was silly but "significant." Then I told him and he laughed. A few hours later, he called back to say when I told him to sit down, he thought for a moment I was going to say the Yankees had traded A-Rod. Yankee fans will understand what terrific news that would be.

The Little Dog Laughed -- at the Sunday preview, my friends say the director came out at about 2:10 and said that one of the leads (Julie White, who got raves for playing a rapacious agent when the play debuted Off Broadway) simply wasn't there and they couldn't reach her. Most Broadway shows play at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Sundays (if there are two shows) and this one was playing rather unusually at 2 p.m. They thought she just didn't realize and hoped she'd show up at about 2:30 and they'd rush her on stage. There was an understudy but the show had just begun previews and her costume wasn't available yet. Naturally, someone called out that that wasn't a problem. (The show has a bit of male nudity in it, actually.) Everyone laughed and was sent to the lobby to relax for a hoped-for 2:45 p.m. start. And that's what happened. Where was White? Wandering the aisles of Bed, Bath & Beyond picking out sheets. She was mortified that she'd delayed the start of the show and almost inevitably one of her first lines said something like, "It was a very difficult beginning" or some such thing and got a huge laugh.

The Rolling Stones -- they played a concert at the Beacon for Bill Clinton's birthday. They raised money and also filmed the event with Martin Scorsese capturing the action. Bill Clinton got even more applause almost than the Stones, receiving a thunderous standing ovation when he arrived with Hillary. But Mick Jagger reportedly one upped him by saying it was great to see the President of the United States. "And I see you brought your husband."