Katie Holmes can’t get no respect. Okay that joke doesn’t really work. But it sure is the truth. Katie hasn’t gotten much attention for her acting career in recent years. She is, at best, an okay actress. If it weren’t for marrying Tom Cruise, she wouldn’t exactly be memorable. Tepid. That’s the word I was searching for.

But Katie is still a big name, regardless of the reason. Which made Broadway producers think it was a good idea to sign her star in “All My Sons.” Unfortunately for them, it appears theater-goers care more about talent than a big name – they’ve barely been able to sell tickets to the show.

“Where are all the Scientologists? Don’t they want to see her?” jokes one person, who requested anonymity for fear that the followers of L. Ron Hubbard would hunt him down and make him read all 10 volumes of “Mission Earth.”

Ticket brokers and group sales agents, who at one point thought Holmes would be this season’s Julia Roberts - who pretty much sold out “Three Days of Rain” in One Day of Rain - say interest in the Holmes show is nil. “I bought 1,000 tickets to the show,” says one broker. “I still have them.” The advance for “All My Sons,” which opens in September, is said to be less than $1 million.

Holmes, meanwhile, is in the public eye only because she’s Mrs. Tom Cruise. [She] is also up against a troubled economy, which, several ticket brokers say, is starting to take its toll on Broadway. “People aren’t shelling out $110 for a play anymore,” says a broker. “It doesn’t matter who’s in it.”

Backstage at “All My Sons,” the buzz is that the cast has been forced to sign confidentiality agreements. The Scientology minders in charge of Holmes apparently don’t want any press they can’t control.

[From the New York Post]

The Post focuses quite a bit on how successful Nicole Kidman was in her 1998 run on Broadway in “The Blue Room,” noting that she “she set the town on fire.” Of course she also took her clothes off for the show – and Holmes is keeping hers tightly buttoned.

The New York Times Magazine also points out that the producers have made a critical error promoting the show. They have only talked about Katie Holmes in all of their promotions - completely failing to mention that the play also stars John Lithgow, Patrick Wilson, and Dianne Wiest. Perhaps if they’d bother to mention their well respected Broadway vets, more people would be willing to shell out the cash.

It’s probably not fair to blame the whole thing on Katie Holmes, her acting skills, or the bad publicity her husband brings to the whole affair. And there’s a chance she’ll get great reviews come September. Failing that, Holmes could do what someone suggested in the Post article to compete with Kidman; “I think if she takes off her clothes, she may catch up.”

Here are Katie and Tom at LACMA’s Opening Celebration of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum on February 9th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

I have a theory that if Ashlee Simpson can do it, anyone can. If Ashlee can scale a mountain, anyone can. If she can marry Pete Wentz, anyone can. Mind you, that doesn’t mean anyone should. And if Ashlee can take on Broadway, anyone can. And with that in mind, Britney Spears is reportedly being considered for the role of Sandy in the West End’s production of Grease.

Britney Spears has been tipped for a role on Broadway - playing Sandy in the stage version of Grease.
The singer proved her acting credentials with a highly successful stint in U.S. sitcom How I Met Your Mother and was recently linked with a move to the London stage.
Spears was reportedly in talks to star in a West End production of Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire - playing the lead role of Blanche DuBois.
And now the Toxic hitmaker is once again rumoured to be considering a turn on stage - this time in hit musical Grease.
A source tells British newspaper Metro, “The producers were bouncing around the idea of casting Britney in the role of Sandy.
“They’re recasting the roles in July and they thought that Britney looked like a Sandy. She would be terrific.”

[From PR-Inside]

Britney might actually do better on the stage than she did on the small screen. I thought her acting was pretty uncomfortable and her delivery pretty stilted when she guest starred on How I Met Your Mother. But Britney is used to performing live on stage, and with some strong coaching she might be a pretty good fit for Grease.

This isn’t the first time Brit’s been rumored to be considering the stage. Last week she had dinner with George Maloof, Jr. the owner of the Palms hotel and casino in Las Vegas. The National Enquirer thinks she’s planning on making her comeback with a Vegas stage show.

Apparently Brit’s not sold yet - the couple good reviews she got for How I Met Your Mother have led her to consider her own television show. PLEASE DON’T DO IT!!

Coming this fall … Britney Spears, the sitcom?

The troubled pop star is reportedly interested in capitalizing on her “How I Met Your Mother” guest-starring success with a TV show of her own.

Spears had a meeting Wednesday with a big time producer about possible TV projects, TMZ.com reports. Brit would star in and possibly produce a show.

Sources told the site that the singer and her posse had a “serious” meeting with Roy Bank, President of Merv Griffin Entertainment, to discuss a move to the small screen. Among other ideas, the concept of a music show was thrown around.

[From the New York Daily News]

I think of the two options, the stage would be a much better fit for Britney. She’ll get to do the same performance over and over again, which seems to be a good idea for her. Practice makes perfect and all that. And if she doesn’t get it quite right every now and then, the entire country isn’t watching her, and it probably won’t end up on YouTube.

I’m still rather shocked that she got decent reviews for her television acting. I assumed people were just trying to encourage her to keep moving forward and such. Apparently it opened some doors for her. Which is great. But I still think a return to live performing would be her best bet.

Here’s Britney after shopping at Lisa Kline boutique in Los Angeles on May 21st. Images thanks to WENN.

Jennifer Garner made her Broadway debut last night in Cyrano de Bergerac with Kevin Kline. Unlike Julia Roberts’ Broadway debut, Garner was largely positively reviewed, with critics hailing her performance as Roxanne.

Newsday says she “breaks the recent Broadway curse of the Hollywood stars,” and that “she flips comfortably from the comic to the plucky and, finally, to the heroic.” The NY Times also praises both Kline and Garner, calling Garner “by far the most comfortable [on stage]” and lauding her performance and timing. the Canadian press did give the play a mixed review, saying that Garner “finds little nuance in her portrayal of Roxanne.” Considering all the other triumphant reviews, it just sounds like one critic was particularly hard on the play.

Garner says she’s not going to pay attention to the reviews, though, and told People Magazine. “I’m not going to look at [them]. No. I can’t stand it.” She doesn’t have much to worry about though.

Garner’s husband of two years, Ben Affleck, was at the premiere and said he was “really impressed by her courage and her talent.” As are the rest of us.

Thanks to PRPhotos for these pictures of Jennifer, and Splash News for the pictures of Ben.