TV and movie stars don’t necessarily embarrass themselves onstage — this year alone, we saw great turns by Tom Hanks (“Lucky Guy”), Zachary Levi (“First Date”), Carla Gugino (“A Kid Like Jake”) and Cuba Gooding Jr. (“The Trip to Bountiful”).
Others weren’t so lucky – like the five listed here.
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1. Orlando Bloom
Carol Rosegg/The Hartman Group/AP Photo Let’s say you’re a handsome matinee idol with no Shakespeare experience. For your first outing, is it really wise to play the lead in “Romeo and Juliet” in the high-pressure Broadway environment? Orlando Bloom chose the challenge, and the challenge defeated him.
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2. Jesse Eisenberg
Joel Ryan/Invision/AP Photo Stars often say they want to stretch. Not so Jesse Eisenberg, who wrote himself a textbook Jesse Eisenberg character in “The Revisionist” — a hoodie-wearing, socially inept, self-involved dork. Even worse, he appeared opposite Vanessa Redgrave, making his ineptitude even more glaring.
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3. John Turturro
Stephanie Berger When you think Scandinavian drama, you think . . . well, not John Turturro. The actor was horribly miscast in a revival of Henrik Ibsen’s “The Master Builder” at BAM. He looked stiff and miserable, and his unease seemed to spread to the audience.
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4. Jennifer Westfeldt
Joan Marcus It’s not that Jennifer Westfeldt was bad in “The Explorers Club” — she was just too cautious, too restrained. Nell Benjamin’s madcap comedy required a leading lady who would fearlessly throw herself onto the stage; Westfeldt pouted to an imaginary camera. Fortunately, our star was surrounded by local stage pros (Lorenzo Pisoni, David Furr, Steven Boyer) who saved the day.
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5. Elizabeth Olsen
Joan Marcus Elizabeth Olsen is a very promising actress, and it was brave of her to venture out in Shakespeareland. But this stage rookie needed a solid director to guide her. Unfortunately, Tea Alagic didn’t know what the heck she was doing, leaving Olsen to flail in their off-Broadway production of “Romeo and Juliet.” Let’s hope this doesn’t sour her on theater — we want to see her fulfill her potential.