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Gosh, what a surprise: She can't act. I, for one, have never understood this woman's appeal, especially since she isn't even particularly attractive. |
Posted on 04/20/2006 6:45:16 AM PDT by veronica
NEW YORK (AFP) - Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts' Broadway debut drew some caustic early reviews, with one critic comparing the "Pretty Woman's" on-stage charisma to that of an industrial lamp post.
The opening night Wednesday of Richard Greenberg's "Three Days of Rain" -- following three weeks of sold-out previews -- had all the glamour of a movie premiere.
Hundreds of ticketless fans gathered outside the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in New York, hoping to catch a glimpse of Roberts and members of the star-studded audience that included the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Susan Sarandon and Marcia Gay Harden.
But where her Hollywood peers were supportive and encouraging, the verdict of theatre critics was less than glowing.
"The star wattage, so evident on the screen doesn't seem, at least in this case, to transfer to the stage," said the Hollywood Reporter.
According to the New York Times, Roberts displayed "the unyielding stiffness of an industrial lamp post" upon her entry in the first act.
"Her voice is strangled, abrupt and often hard to hear. She has the tenseness of a woman who might break in to pieces at any second," the Times critic said.
"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," he added.
The Chicago Tribune found Roberts' performance "so introspective and lacking in sexual energy that it feels almost apologetic."
While acknowledging Roberts as a "class act," the Tribune said she had yet to figure out how to communicate that act beyond a camera lens.
"Roberts' orbit here feels so limited in range -- and so lacking in oomph, projection and the necessary vocal support -- that one has to repress an urge to jump up on stage, get close to that famous, wide-mouthed visage, and see precisely what she's doing," the Tribune critic said.
"Three Days of Rain," which was produced Off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 1997, is a two-act play dealing with themes of generational conflict and the nature of family.
In the first act, Roberts plays a daughter who, along with her brother, tries to unravel the truth behind her father's death. In the second act set 30 years earlier, Roberts plays the daughter's mother.
In a friendlier review, USA Today judged that the Hollywood A-lister had managed to "hold her own" with her more theatrically experienced co-stars, Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper.
"In the end, Roberts makes both women credible, compelling and sweetly funny," the national daily said.
Britain's Financial Times said anyone hoping to see the actress disgrace herself would leave disappointed.
"At the same time, her stunning, made-for-close-up face seems unable to project the kind of external theatricality necessary to make a character come fully alive on a big stage," it said.
Roberts, 38, was chosen for the play last year with producers hoping her cinema box office magic would draw big audiences -- a ploy vindicated by the the entire three-month run selling out well in advance of Wednesday's opening night.
Scalpers were reportedly offering tickets for as much as 600 dollars.
Roberts, who won an Oscar in 2000 for her leading in role in "Erin Brockovich," went on maternity leave in early 2005 to take care of her twin children and the play marks her return to work.
She is the latest in a line of marquee Hollywood names seeking a stint in the theatrical spotlight.
The last Broadway season saw Denzel Washington as Brutus in "Julius Caesar," Jessica Lange in "The Glass Menagerie" and Kathleen Turner in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf."
Not just an ordinary lamppost, but an industrial lamppost. Ouch.
So it matches her on-screen charisma then.
Julia who?
The last time I saw a face like Julia's, it had a hook in its mouth.
Needs some superfluous letters edited out:
Julia Roberts' star power dims with st age debut. ;)
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Gosh, what a surprise: She can't act. I, for one, have never understood this woman's appeal, especially since she isn't even particularly attractive. |
I was thinking a bridle
She's definately got the mouth of a Grouper.
Pretty woman became average house frau.
Is that from that idiotic new Vanity Fair? The "green" issue? Barf...
I agree. She is one UGLY WOMAN (even when she supposedly was a PRETTY WOMAN).
I saw her on TV. It was unreal how ugly she is. Her face looked like it was dark melting wax.
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