Tek mum on divorce

Jason Varitek had nothing to say yesterday, at least to us, about his divorce. And there are few details in the documents filed in Gwinnett County, Ga. Seems the Sox catcher and his wife, Karen, split June 7 and are living separately. In his complaint, filed at the end of July, the team captain contends the marriage is "irretrievably broken" and there are "no prospects for a reconciliation." The couple, who were married Jan. 6, 1996, have three young daughters. The attorneys in the case did not return calls yesterday.

Cooking with Kelley

Josh Kelley played an intimate concert and did a cooking demo with chef Evan Percoco last night at Bokx 109, at Newton's Hotel Indigo. (Wildly, Harry Wayne Casey, a.k.a. "KC" of KC and the Sunshine Band, was in the crowd.) Kelley, newly married to actress Katherine Heigl, has a new album and is currently touring with Rod Stewart, which he said is a trip. "I grew up listening to a little bit of Rod," he said. "My mom loves him." In fact, Mom - who still overnights Kelley and his new bride peach and blueberry cobblers - will get to meet the veteran rocker at their Atlanta performance. "I'm going to see my mom in a way I've never seen her," he joked. Heigl, currently immersed in "Grey's Anatomy" filming, will hopefully be there for that show too, he added. Married life is sweet. "It's like real, committed love," he said. "We even have better conversations."

Here and there

Mel Gibson and Robert De Niro stopped at Abe & Louie's the other night, huddling in the private dining room downstairs. The A-list actors, who are in town to shoot "Edge of Darkness," were accompanied by their bodyguards. De Niro, we're told, had the crispy pork dish, while Gibson didn't order dinner. . . . Jimmy Buffett dined the other night at Via Matta with his bandmates. . . . Hizzoner Tom Menino and his wife, Angela, were on the guest list for last night's Simone show at Scullers. . . . Sox slugger David Ortiz dropped by Sonsie for a late dinner after the Sox game Wednesday.

'Transsiberian' opens in Harvard Square

Scout Productions, former Boston film teacher and director Brad Anderson, and writer Will Conroy, son of the late Nantucket novelist Frank Conroy, have a new movie opening in Harvard Square today, "Transsiberian." The flick stars Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer as the perfect American couple who become the target of ex-KGB agent Ben Kingsley's investigation when they encounter drug trafficking and murderous deceit on the Trans-Siberian Express.

Kramer's got the blues

Relax, all you Aerosmith acolytes, the band is heading back to the studio in October and will hit the road next spring. In the meantime, drummer Joey Kramer is staying busy with bluesman James Montgomery, playing dates as the Kramer/Montgomery Band. "James has been around as long as we have, and we've always talked about playing together," Kramer told us. "He had a few dates and wondered if I'd be into it. I said, 'Sure.' " The gigs are Sept. 12 at the Roxy and Sept. 13 at the Academy of Music in Northampton. (Tickets go on sale today via TicketWeb.) There'll be special guests at both shows, including guitarist J. Geils, harpist James Cotton, the Rolling Stones' Uptown Horns, and Ernie Boch Jr.'s band, the Automatics, with former Boston members Sib Hashian and Barry Goudreau. "It's basically blues," Kramer said. "But we'll do a few Aerosmith tunes, too."

Sox museum visit is a hit

Sox stars David Ortiz and Julio Lugo paid a surprise visit yesterday to the opening of "Merengue! Visual Rhythms/Ritmos Visuales," a new exhibit at the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists in Roxbury. The show features more than 40 works by 28 artists from the Dominican Republic.

Cancer benefit draws a greats crowd

Curt Schilling, Glen "Big Baby" Davis, and Bruins legend Ray Bourque talked trophies with WEEI's John Dennis and NESN's Tom Caron at the seventh annual WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon yesterday at the State Street Pavilion. And the money was rolling in to the two-day cancer research benefit, organizers reported. Sox manager Terry Francona dropped off a check for $5,000, and calls came in from Donald Trump (who ponied up 50 grand), Mike O'Malley, Tony Danza, and Kevin Nealon. The Sox' bout against the Texas Rangers was also expected to be star-studded last night, with JoJo Levesque singing the national anthem and Bill Cosby throwing the first pitch to Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.

Hanging with Gayle

Crystal Gayle hung with Millennium Bostonian Hotel head honchos CEO John Arnett and general manager Dominique Marty before headlining the final show in the Dorothy Curran Evening Concert Series at Boston City Hall Wednesday night. Gayle and the US Air Force Band of Liberty got a VIP tour of the hotel's almost-complete $24 million renovations.

France loves Horovitz? Oui.

The French sure love Israel Horovitz. The Gloucester Stage Co. founder is one of four writers who are receiving a six-week, all-expenses-paid residency at Royaumont Abbey, north of Paris, this fall. (Horovitz, whose son is Beastie Boy Adam "Adrock" Horovitz, was chosen for his screenplay "My Old Lady.") With more than 40 plays produced in France, Horovitz is by far the most-produced American playwright in French theater history. This winter, six of his new short plays will have their French premiere in Amiens. (Can't make it? The plays will be read - in English - Sunday at the Gloucester Stage Co.) Asked about his prize, Horovitz told us: "I always thought I would end up in France . . . but why are they putting me in a monastery?!"

Feeling the Love

Mix 98.5's Alicia Love is polishing her stand-up, getting all amped up for her first Boston Comedy Festival preliminary battle on Sept. 16. The 29-year-old, who spends most mornings bantering on the radio with John Lander, has been working nights and weekends for the past year in preparation. She made her debut at 16 years old at the Abington American Legion hall, after she was gently removed from her dance school's routine and dubbed a comedian instead. "I got laughs," she remembered. "I don't know how good I was." In June, a friend delivered her tape to the festival at the last minute and she was shocked to win a coveted spot, she said. "I'm just hoping to not bomb in the first round. And get a laugh or two." Her shtick? "I do a lot of jokes about waxing," she promised. "Painful, but funny. And I'll do some jokes about being a little chubby."

Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.