A couple of weeks ago, in a column about a sneak-peek at the upcoming Broadway musical "Shrek," I made some minor - and, of course, constructive - criticisms of some of the songs, namely that the music wasn't tuneful and the lyrics weren't clever. (OK, maybe my criticisms weren't that minor.)

The column prompted an e-mail from someone whose address I didn't recognize and who objected to what I wrote.

Thinking my correspondent was some cranky old Broadway geezer, living in the past and longing for the old ways and rules, I fired off a quick response.

Turns out the "old geezer" was John Weidman, the 60-ish president of the Dramatists Guild of America and the co-creator of "Pacific Overtures," "Assassins" and the Tony-winning "Contact."

Since our e-mail exchange is making the rounds, I thought I might as well make it public today.

Dear Michael:

I don't suppose there are many rules, unspoken or otherwise, left in the world of the Broadway theater, but it has always been understood that a show would not be reviewed until its opening night.

In a letter to the Times several years ago, I took one of their Sunday feature writers to task for, in effect, reviewing a show which was to open later that week. In your column yesterday, you seem to have gone the Times one better by reviewing a show - a significant element of a show - before that show had even gone into rehearsal.

Inappropriate, irresponsible, and completely unfair.

John

I responded:

The world has changed. With tickets going on sale months and months in advance of a show's opening - and with prices at $200 to $450 - I don't think it's inappropriate for columnists to give their impression of a show. I hope people read my reports on "Young Frankenstein" and "The Little Mermaid" out of town. I would have saved them lots of money.

These people are not making art. They're in it for the money. Period.

Let the chips fall where they may.

Incidentally, I ran into Jeanine Tesori, the composer of "Shrek," the other day at Joe Allen's Bar Centrale.

"I'm not in it for the money!" she exclaimed, obviously having read the exchange.

Well, that was certainly true of her last show, the arty "Caroline, or Change," which, I believe, lost its entire investment on Broadway.

But "Shrek"?

Come on, Jeanine.

Surely this one's for the country house.

THE old guard and the new guard were one Thursday at the opening-night party of "Passing Strange," the hip new musical by rock musician Stew that's being produced by the venerable Shubert Organization.

A rave review was read aloud, like in the old days before BlackBerrys.

(The Shuberts don't have BlackBerrys. They still "hold the wire.")

The reader was the great Marian Seldes, an actress more attuned, you'd think, to an Edward Albee drawing room than to a rock musical about a black man's sexual and artistic awakening in Europe in the 1980s.

But Seldes, 79, is a big fan of "Passing Strange."

"I adore Stew," she says.

Seldes read the rave with her usual flair.

When Shubert president Phil Smith complimented her reading, she replied: "Thank you, darling. The material you gave me was wonderful!"
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Reese Witherspoon was at the U.N. Tuesday as part of an effort to raise money for a fund to end violence against women worldwide.

The Academy Award-winning actress was promoting a $3 bracelet with an infinity symbol signifying opportunities for women. She is the paid "global ambassador" and global face for Avon Products, Inc.

The Avon Foundation pledged to match the first $500,000 in sales of the "Women's Empowerment Bracelet."

Witherspoon said the money would go to a trust fund managed by the U.N. Development Fund for Women, or UNIFEM, to provide more education and job training for women and to push for new laws that benefit their standing in some countries.

"Every economic opportunity created for a woman helps a child, helps a community and raises awareness and education," Witherspoon said in an interview with The Associated Press. "Women who feel economically empowered are much more likely to stand up for their own rights, and the rights of their children."

Two of every three people living in poverty in the world are women, UNIFEM director Joanne Sandler said. And the violence against them is a pandemic hidden among the estimated $9.5 billion that criminal networks earn from human trafficking, mostly women and children.

Since its inception 11 years ago, the U.N. fund has granted nearly $18 million to 250 initiatives around the globe.
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Kid Rock has pleaded not guilty to a charge of battery from a fight at a Waffle House in Atlanta.

Robert James Ritchie, better known as the musician Kid Rock, was not present for the plea. His attorney, Darryl Cohen, waived an arraignment hearing and entered the plea on Ritchie's behalf in DeKalb County State Court, according to Cohen's office.

Ritchie and five members of his entourage were arrested October 21st on a misdemeanor charge of simple battery. The charges stem from a fight at a a metro-Atlanta Waffle House, where they had stopped following his performance at The Tabernacle.

Officials say a fight broke out after another customer recognized a woman in Kid Rock's party and exchanged words with her, prompting Ritchie to exchange words, too.
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Enrique Iglesias said he plans to leave the spotlight before he turns 50 -- unlike his famous father, Julio, who is still crooning romantic ballads after four decades.

"I'm not sure I want to be up on a stage when I'm 64 or 65," the pop singer told The Associated Press in a phone interview Thursday from Miami.

"In my father's case, I think he's going to die onstage and I respect that very much," the 32-year-old pop star said of the 64-year-old. "In my case, in 15 years I'll probably look ridiculous singing 'Bailamos' ('Let's Dance')."

The Madrid-born artist -- who debuted in 1995 with a self-titled album and releases a greatest hits compilation "95/08" on March 25 -- said dissatisfaction with his own work is what drives him to continue performing and recording.

"When I listen to my music I think it can still continue to evolve," he said. "After a couple of months go by, I think I could write a better song."

Iglesias said he is striving to make the perfect record -- "One you listen to 10, 15, 20 years from now and say, 'Oh! I wouldn't change a thing.' "

And until Iglesias makes that album, it seems nothing is set in stone.

"I want to retire in the next 15 years," Iglesias said. "But that's what I say now. Who knows if I'll have the courage to do it when the day comes."
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Rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen is undergoing tests for an undisclosed medical problem, causing his band Van Halen to reschedule four upcoming U.S. concerts, a spokesman for the tour promoter said on Monday.

Van Halen has fought cancer and alcohol in the past but a statement released by Live Nation made no mention of his current problem.

"According to Eddie Van Halen's physician, he is undergoing a battery of comprehensive medical tests to determine a defined diagnosis and recommended medical procedures," the statement said.

A company spokesman said there was no further information on the guitarist's condition beyond the statement.

Van Halen, 53, co-founded the group that bears his name with his brother, drummer Alex, and played guitar and keyboards. Van Halen had a string of hits including "Runnin' with the Devil" and "Panama" starting in the late 1970s.

In August the group unveiled plans for a 25-city North American tour that began in September 2007 and has continued since then.

Live Nation said Van Halen's condition caused the band to reschedule concerts in Dallas, Cincinnati, Baltimore and Raleigh, North Carolina. Those shows were scheduled to take place early this month and have been put off until April.

In the 1990s, Eddie Van Halen had hip replacement surgery and was treated for oral cancer. He also has battled alcohol abuse with a stint in rehab and recently was divorced from actress Valerie Bertinelli.
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Beatles drummer Ringo Starr blames his alcoholism on his inability to function sober following the break-up of the legendary band.

The 67-year-old drifted into a downward spiral of depression after the Penny Lane hitmakers broke up in 1970 - and turned to alcohol as a way of coping.

And Starr, who went on to score a number of hit solo albums after the Beatles disbanded, is convinced he nearly destroyed his career with drink.

He says, "I recorded a lot of things drunk - because I was a drunk. I felt I could deal with life more easily with a few drinks. The problem was a few turned into many."

Starr eventually entered rehab and slowly recovered but insists staying sober was a major struggle.

He adds, "I can remember only the start of having that final drink. I drank cognac then I blacked out. A couple of days later I ended up in rehab.

"Living sober was difficult. I had to learn to go to a show, never mind be in a show or be in a studio and play. A lot of other parts of life I had to start again."

In seperate news THE Beatles drummer was disgusted with the band's musical prowess in the mid 1960s - because their screaming fans turned them into "bad musicians".

The Fab Four star is convinced they became victims of their own phenomenal success, as the deafening roar of the crowds during their gigs drowned out the sound of their instruments - so they couldn't hear what they were playing.

He says, "By 1965 we were turning into really bad musicians because we literally couldn't hear ourselves over the screaming from the audience.

"I was going downhill as a musician, and so was everyone else in the band.

Then, we only did 25 minutes on stage. Now thanks to Led Zeppelin and The Who, everybody has to do two hours."
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“To me, Botox is no more unusual than toothpaste. It works, you do it once a year - who cares? I’d never dye my hair, although I know everyone thinks I do.

He said of Hollywood stars: “The current crop of actresses - Nicole Kidman and Kate Bosworth etc - they’re just nothing. There’s nothing to fancy or fantasise about there. I like old-school glamour, Raquel Welch and Brigitte Bardot, voluptuous and naughty. Mistresses.”