It’sofficial: We’re 100! And not looking too bad on it, even if I do say so myself! I know, as a woman , I should never discuss my age, but I’ve got to just express how happy we all are that the show is still such a success after all this time. In England you receive a telegram from the Queen when you turn 100 …. I’m still waiting for mine, Ma’am!
Tuesday’s show was made extra special due to the fact that Ellen DeGeneres joined us on the judging panel. She really was a lovely lady! She hit just the right balance between judge, comedienne, and superfan. Ellen made the show so much fun, and I know the dancers loved her being there. It’s great having a new input on the show — itjust mixes up the dynamics. Portia also came down to the studio and we wereintroduced when I was standing in the tower and she was standing on the studiofloor — not the greatest angle in the world! I had to apologize for the fact thatshe was not only introduced to me, but also to my nasal passages! Fun!
As 
As a very loyal Dawson’s Creek fan, I was about as excited as Dawson Leery getting a director’s cut DVD of A.I. for Creek star Katie Holmes’ return to television. She played a clumsy lawyer named Grace on last night’s episode of ABC’s Eli Stone and was surprisingly good. Holmes was sweet and charming and totally made you forget that she’s the woman who gave birth to Suri (oh and the wife of Tom Cruise)! And she displayed impressive singing and dancing skills while performing Duke Ellington’s "Hit Me With a Hot Note" during an Eli hallucination (although I kinda knew that she could sing and dance after watching the Dawson’s Creek True Hollywood Story and I think at least one or two Jules Asner/E! specials on Holmes). 
The hot weather is supposed to be behind us (damn you, global warming!) and chillier nights should play host to the new wave of shows. And while it would be utterly loco of me to include everything between now and early December, I figured it would be a good idea to give you some choice highlights, both in and out of the Big Apple, of the upcoming theater season. 
Perhaps it’s only a war in my mind because I’m desperate to see more of Deadwood‘s Timothy Olyphant (pictured, right) at the moment. But play along: Will Olyphant (currently the baddie in 
