Bye Bye Birdie received a few unkind reviews — and star Gina Gershon has read them! “I think they were a little bizarrely harsh,†she told us at the Cool Comedy Hot Cuisine benefit for the Scleroderma Research Foundation last night at Caroline’s. “I’d like for a critic to go up there for five minutes and try to do anything that [we’re] trying to do. I think they’re ridiculous, so whatever.†According to Gershon, Birdie-slamming critics are irrelevant anyway: “Luckily, I don’t think it matters that much anymore,†she said. “I don’t think it’s like the old days when if you get a bad review, you close the show.â€
Her co-star, John Stamos, who “did not read one single review,†agrees. And he has the statistics to back it up: “The shows have been sold out until … whenever,†he told us. Plus, who cares if Ben Brantley hates your singing when you have a fan in theater critic Bob Saget? “I loved the show and I loved seeing John in it,†Saget told us. “He can literally do anything.â€
Meanwhile, inside, Stamos took the stage to salute Saget for his charity work. “You don’t even know how many people come up to me and say how Bob Saget has helped them and saved their lives. I’m proud of you and I love you very much.†“This is the gayest moment of the night,†said Saget, mid-hug. But it wouldn’t be for long.
Saget revealed he needed knee surgery after helping out Stamos a few weeks ago with an improvised stand-up routine during a halted preview of Birdie. “I jumped up onstage and I didn’t use steps because there weren’t any, I was pushed by a security gentleman, John pulled me up, and I balanced on my left knee and my left knee snapped,†Saget said. For pain relief, he put in a small request from his former TV brother-in-law: “Why don’t you touch my testicles and make me forget about it?†And not only is Saget not suing Stamos or the production, he’d happily endure injury all over again. “I love him. I’ll do anything he wants,†he said. “Thank God you were there. You saved my life!†said Stamos. To which Saget replied: “You saved my life.