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If you've been praying for Three Days of Rain, the wait is over: Julia Roberts begins previews in director Joe Mantello's production of the Richard Greenberg play tonight at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.
It's the Oscar winner's Broadway debut, co-starring Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper. A few tickets are still available, mostly in the latter part of the run, which ends June 18.
Each actor juggles a pair of roles in Greenberg's generational drama, which earned praise off-Broadway in 1997.
Asked about the excitement surrounding the Broadway debut of Rain, the playwright says, "Rehearsals have been amazingly normal."
Granted, Greenberg, whose credits include The Violet Hour and the Tony Award-winning Take Me Out, had his pinch-me-I'm-dreaming moment.
"But it was long before we started, when (Roberts) initially agreed to do it. My agent told me that Julia was reading the play. I said, "Julia who?'"
Roberts is "critic-proof in terms of sales," says Todd Haimes, who as artistic director of the Roundabout Theatre Company has given Broadway marquee names such as Antonio Banderas in 2003's Nine and Harry Connick Jr. in the current hit revival of The Pajama Game.
But while a Hollywood or pop-music idol may mean bonzo box office, it doesn't assure accolades, as proven by the less-than-rave reviews that have greeted stars ranging from Denzel Washington to Sean "Diddy" Combs in recent years. (Reviews for Rain will appear beginning April 11.)
"When someone like Julia Roberts comes to Broadway, the critical community rips itself apart between being excited and, to some extent, preparing to sharpen their knives," Haimes says.
"(Roberts) is already considered one of the best actresses in America, and now she's taking an enormous pay cut, working her butt off eight performances a week. It's really good for theater that she's doing this, and I think we should want to encourage artists to take risks."
For his part, Wall Street Journal drama critic Terry Teachout says, "Nothing would please me more than to see her knock it out of the park. I can't speak for anybody else, but I always hope for the best when a movie star takes to the stage -- or anyone else, for that matter."
Producer Adam Epstein, whose Broadway credits include Hairspray, The Wedding Singer and the acclaimed 2002 production of The Crucible, starring Liam Neeson and Laura Linney, allows that "audiences have been intoxicated by star power, then disappointed." With Rain, Epstein says, "You have a great play with an amazing creative team. And getting Julia Roberts was a slam dunk."
David Binder, a producer of A Raisin in the Sun, starring Combs, agrees. "I think that whenever a major name comes to Broadway, they absolutely bring in people who wouldn't come otherwise."
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