Julia Louis-Dreyfus is stepping onto Broadway for the first time, and newly released production shots show her in character as Polly Wyeth in Other Desert Cities. The revival is already in previews at the Hudson Theatre and is headed for an October 18 opening night.
For readers searching now, the photos are the first public look at a cast that pairs Louis-Dreyfus with Ed Harris, Allison Janney, Joe Keery and Lily Rabe in Jon Robin Baitz's play. Louis-Dreyfus, an 11-time Emmy winner, is taking on the role of Polly in a family drama built around a writer who threatens to publish a tell-all memoir about a long-held secret.
The production also puts a sharp spotlight on a play with history of its own. Other Desert Cities premiered Off-Broadway via Lincoln Center Theater in 2011, moved to Broadway the same year and was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prizer for Drama, even as it is being billed now as a Tony-winning work. That history gives the revival a familiar pedigree, but the new photos make clear this staging is aiming for its own identity rather than a museum piece.
Behind the scenes, the company is built with the same scale as the cast. Scott Pask handles scenic design, Tom Broecker costumes, Natasha Katz lighting and Mikaal Sulaiman sound and original music, with Robert Pickens on hair and wig design. Richard Hodge is production stage manager, Samuel Dallas of Envoy Theatricals is general manager, and ATG Productions, Bad Robot Live, Gavin Kalin Productions, Kristin Caskey, Bee Carrozzini and Mike Isaacson are among the producers. If the photos answer one question, they leave another hanging over the debut: how Louis-Dreyfus's first Broadway turn lands when the curtain rises on October 18.
