Jennifer Aniston

Caught in the Act!
• A bespectacled Jennifer Aniston joined three girlfriends for dinner at Ty Lounge in New York City's Four Seasons Hotel. The actress, who nibbled on wild salmon and sipped Grey Goose vodka with limejuice, repeatedly broke into laughter as the night went on. "The ladies seemed to be having a really good time together," a witness tells PEOPLE.

• Meg Ryan also lunched with some ladies – including her little lady, 5-year-old daughter Daisy – at New York's Serendipity 3. Ryan, who turns 49 on Nov. 19, was having an early birthday celebration, and enjoyed black bean soup and the signature Frrrozen Hot Chocolate while chatting with her friends.

• Gossip Girl star Jessica Szohr surrounded herself with pals recently at Hemingway's Lounge in Hollywood. "She was laughing and telling stories and knocking back a few cocktails," a witness tells PEOPLE. "She looked beautiful and wasn't in the mood to hide it."

• It was a meeting of the funny minds when Ben Stiller, Judd Apatow and Jim Carrey came together for dinner at New York's Rouge Tomate, where they sampled items from the raw fish menu. Carrey, who has been filming Mr. Popper's Penguins in the Big Apple, came straight from set still dressed in his tux.

• Man on a Ledge costars Kyra Sedgwick and Elizabeth Banks took five from filming recently, kicking back with cocktails and wine at the Living Room lounge in the W Times Square.


What does Jennifer Aniston do after a long day of film acting? A little impromptu theater acting, of course.

The actress, 41, made a surprise cameo on stage Monday night as part of the 24 Hour Plays on Broadway charity event in New York. Surprising the audience and her castmates, she played the spirit of a dead dog in The Bitch Downstairs, one of six short plays written and performed in the space of 24 hours.

"She's known about the show for weeks, but whether or not she could perform depended on her shooting schedule. She actually came right from the set," a source said of Aniston, who has been filming the comedy Wanderlust.

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Aniston shared the stage with Kyra Sedgwick, Sam Rockwell, Lee Pace and Nia Vardalos, among others, at the event, which was sponsored by Montblanc and benefiting the Urban Arts Partnership.

Dressed casually in jeans, a furry vest, a white tank and heels, Aniston mingled with friends at the afterparty at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in Times Square. She chatted with actresses Elizabeth Banks and Leslie Bibb and hit the dance floor for a few songs before leaving around 1 a.m.

Aniston's good friend Kathy Najimy also performed in the plays but she stayed mum on whether or not she knew about Aniston's big surprise.

"I can't say! I can't say," she said with a smile. "She did fantastic, and the crowd went wild. What's not to love? It's Jennifer Aniston."