|
25
April 2006
Julia
Roberts On
Broadway
Oscar-winning
actress Julia
Roberts
has made her debut on
Broadway in a revival of
Richard Greenberg's
acclaimed play, Three
Days of Rain.
It
is a comeback of sorts
for Julia Roberts, who
has not worked much in
the last two years,
excepting some voiceover
work and a couple of
animated
films.
Instead,
the 38-year-old film
star has been devoting
herself to her new
family: her husband of
four years and her
16-month-old
twins.
It's
hard to believe Julia
Roberts is a stage
novice, but she
is.
So
why would a woman who
can earn $20m
(£11.1m) per film
return to the stage
instead of the
screen?
"I
think it's called
professional challenge,"
says Leah Rozen, the
film critic for People
Magazine.
"There
are those who are
willing to do theatre
and are willing to
stretch their wings. And
on the New York stage
right now, she's queen
of the city."
Three
Days of Rain has become
the hottest ticket in
town.
Despite
tickets costing up to
$250 (£140), the
show is sold out for its
entire run, which ends
on 18 June
2006.
Every
night after the show,
for the past three weeks
of previews, the
pavements around the
theatre are jammed with
fans, eager to glimpse
the star as she leaves
the stage
door.
"I
admire her for putting
herself on the line,"
says John Breglio, a
Broadway producer. "She
doesn't need to have
herself reviewed. She's
putting herself out
there and she certainly
doesn't need the money
or the
accolades."
Challenging
Role
"My
family is very
fulfilling and
interesting to me," said
Julia Roberts, in a rare
interview about her
stage debut.
"And
for me to step away from
that for any period of
time, I was going to
have to do something
that was really
different and
challenging."
Three
Days of Rain is a
sensitive drama about
three adults - a sister,
a brother and a
long-time friend - who,
in the course of reading
a will, unwittingly
replay their parents'
tangled
relationships.
The
play, first produced
off-Broadway nearly ten
years ago, is not
necessarily the stuff
that hits are made of.
With its thorny dialogue
and sombre characters,
it is a far cry from
current hits The
Producers or
Spamalot.
In
the complex world of
Broadway economics, it
is crucial to have a big
star headlining a
revival like
this.
Here,
the gamble has certainly
paid off. According to
the League of American
Theatres and Producers,
the play earned almost
$1m in its first week -
unusual for a small play
in a mid-sized 1,100
seat house.
Film
stars have long been
drawn to the Broadway
stage.
In
1981, Elizabeth Taylor
made her Broadway debut
in The Little Foxes, for
which she received a
Tony nomination. In
1983, she made her
second and last Broadway
appearance, opposite
Richard Burton, in Noel
Coward's Private
Lives.
In
1992, actress Jessica
Lange, who had virtually
no stage experience took
on Blanche DuBois in A
Streetcar Named Desire.
Despite the fact the
critics complained that
her performance was too
muted, she returned
again last year in The
Glass
Menagerie.
"I
think movie stars are
lured by the legitimacy
it gives them, and the
very special glamour of
Broadway," says Mr
Breglio. "I'm sure they
dream of winning a Tony.
I think for actors
that's the ultimate
vindication."
This
play is being seen as
the beginning of a new
phase of Julia Roberts'
career. When she
finishes Three Days, she
will go back to being a
full-time mum. Then, in
the autumn, she will
film Charlie Wilson's
War with Tom
Hanks.
Whether
the powerful New York
theatre critics are
cruel or kind to Julia
Roberts, it is unlikely
to affect her
professionally given her
megastar
status.
But
for now, Roberts seems
happy just being part of
this Broadway ensemble -
reportedly applying her
own stage make-up,
eating tuna sandwiches
from the local deli and
taking curtain calls
side-by-side with her
co-stars.
Return
To News Index
|
