Julia Louis-Dreyfus makes her Broadway debut tonight as preview performances begin for a revival of Jon Robin Baitz's "Other Desert Cities" at the Hudson Theatre. The production reunites the Emmy-winning actress with a cast that includes Ed Harris, Allison Janney, Joe Keery and Lily Rabe, under the direction of Tony winner John Benjamin Hickey.
The revival is the first time the play has returned to Broadway since its original 2011 run, and it arrives with a 16-week limited engagement, running through Jan. 17, 2027, ahead of an official opening set for Oct. 18. Louis-Dreyfus plays Polly Wyeth, a former Hollywood screenwriter and stalwart Republican matriarch whose Palm Springs Christmas Eve gathering is upended when her daughter, played by Rabe, announces plans to publish a memoir exposing a long-buried family tragedy. Harris plays her husband, Lyman, a former ambassador; Janney plays Polly's sister, Silda; and Keery plays the Wyeths' son, Trip.
A Play Built for a Starry Return
Baitz's drama premiered off-Broadway in 2011 before transferring to the Booth Theatre later that year, where it earned five Tony nominations, including for best play and for Stockard Channing's lead performance as Polly; Judith Light won the Tony for best featured actress for her supporting turn as Silda. The play has since become a staple of regional theater, prized for a structure that plays as a brittle family comedy for its first act before turning into something closer to a political and moral reckoning.
This revival marks a rare Broadway convergence of film and television stars taking on a straight play rather than a musical or starry two-hander, a format that producers have increasingly leaned on to sell tickets in a difficult Broadway economy. Louis-Dreyfus, best known for "Seinfeld" and "Veep," has worked largely in television and film since her last major stage credit decades ago, making this both a Broadway debut and a return to live theater after a long absence.
Tickets for the limited engagement have been selling briskly since the casting was first announced in the spring, with producers offering a limited run of discounted seats to broaden the audience ahead of previews. The production's marketing has leaned heavily on the cast's screen pedigree, a strategy Broadway has used with mixed success this season to draw audiences who might not otherwise buy a play ticket.
Reviews will not be permitted until the show's official opening on Oct. 18, giving the cast three weeks of previews to adjust the production in front of audiences. If the run performs well, producers have not ruled out extending the engagement beyond its scheduled January close.
