Broadway is being inundated with stars.
It’s an impressive list. Robert Downey Jr., George Clooney, Mia Farrow, Denzel Washington, Jake Gyllenhaal, Julianna Margulies, Sarah Snook, Katie Holmes, Shailene Woodley, Jim Parsons and Nicole Scherzinger are all appearing in shows this season.
Between them are five Academy Awards, eight Emmys and 15 Golden Globes.
And, most notably, just one Tony.
Why are these celebs all here from LA? Surely not to get a whiff of the East River.
The reasons are many. Some are old pros at the stage, while others had holes in their usually packed filming schedules opened up by the 2023 Hollywood strikes. A few haven’t made a movie in years, and one, Washington (the aforementioned one Tony), is a presumed Oscar contender next March for “Gladiator II.”
But for everybody, Broadway — despite the nostalgic fun of putting on a show — comes at an enormous risk to a star’s pride and reputation.
New York theater isn’t like the movies, where actors do a few days of “did anything funny happen on set?!” press months after shooting and move on to the next project.
After the reviews drop on a Broadway opening night — sometimes bringing the boozy party to a crashing halt — the A-Lister has got to come back and do it again a day later. No matter what.
Downey Jr. took the season’s first harsh blows. I gave his tedious play about AI, “McNeal,” one star, while the Times called it “timely but turgid.”
A source told Closer magazine, “The brutal reviews have shattered him. He poured his heart into this project, only for it to bomb — it’s been a blow to his ego.”
Another said, “he won’t be stepping foot on a theater stage again.”
He should, if Downey Jr. could shepherd in a better script. He’s fine in the role of a jackass Nobel Prize winner. It’s Ayad Akhtar’s migraine of a play that sinks the ship.
The thing is, “McNeal” is selling out. The play, which is produced “in association” with Downey Jr’s company, Team Downey, grossed $1.35 million last week. Marvel fans are legion.
But after those scathing notices, Downey Jr. has still had to perform eight times a week for two more months. For megawatt stars not accustomed to being so vulnerable, it’s embarrassing.
Margulies was next in line. The “Good Wife” and “Morning Show” actress leads playwright Delia Ephron’s “Left on Tenth,” a long sit about a woman who finds love after the death of her husband, only to be diagnosed with cancer.
I gave it 1.5 stars last Wednesday, part of a tidal wave of mixed-to-negative responses. “Left” is an awkward rom-com that never comes together. And, ouch, it runs through Feb. 2.
Disaster hasn’t befallen everybody. Former Pussycat Doll Scherzinger got raves for her performance as Norma Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard.” And Kit Connor, a new phenom on Netflix’s “Heartstopper” was well-received in “Romeo + Juliet” — even if the rave-like production got a more tepid reaction.
But we’ve still got months to go before the 2024-25 season ends next April.
A huge moment will come in the spring when George Clooney makes his Broadway debut in “Good Night, and Good Luck,” which, a source said, is headed to the Winter Garden after “Back to the Future” drops its DeLorean at the junkyard.
It’s a big Broadway debut for a huge name. And George will be hoping he doesn’t suffer the same fate as Julia Roberts, with whom he notably appeared in five films.
The “Erin Brockovich” actress graced the New York stage in 2006 for the first — and only — time in “Three Days of Rain.”
Not won over by fame alone, The Post’s Clive Barnes didn’t mince words.
“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,” Clive wrote.
After a line like that, Roberts had to be thinking, “Hooray for Hollywood!”
