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IMMEDIATELY after Julia Roberts opened in "Three Days of Rain," theater producers and agents worried that the harsh reception she received from some critics was going to frighten off other movie stars looking to do a Broadway play.
The critics, one very influential theater executive told me, "are doing a terrible thing to this industry. Stars make Broadway exciting. They get it out of the arts pages and onto the front pages. But if they're going to get beaten up, they won't come, and this whole business is going to suffer because nobody's going to care about it."
He was being a little melodramatic, but at the time it certainly seemed that any producer trying to lure a Hollywood name to Broadway was going to have a tough time.
A month later, however, anger over Roberts' reviews has dissipated, and the Broadway rumor mill is once again churning with news of big stars flirting with the stage.
If those stars were to check in with Roberts (she's friends with many of them), they'd find she isn't having such a bad time after all.
The actress has settled into her run, and people around her say she's enjoying herself. Her performance is said to be getting stronger.
I know of three Tony nominators and one critic (from London) who thought she was much better than advertised.
There is even an outside chance that she may snag a Tony nomination.
Add to all this the fact that, despite the reviews, "Three Days of Rain" will make pots of money for everyone involved, and Broadway doesn't seem quite so inhospitable to movie stars.
Plus, out in Hollywood, bad reviews in New York don't loom so large.
Discussing Denzel Washington's less than stellar turn in "Julius Caesar" last year, a veteran movie producer says: "Do you know what people in Los Angeles know about 'Julius Caesar?' That it was soldout, and that it was sold out because of Denzel."
Box office trumps reviews every time.
What big stars, then, are still willing to brave New York's snarly theater critics and, as movie actors like to say, "challenge myself as an artist" by appearing on stage?
Here, based on conversations with producers and agents, is a run-down of the names in the hopper:
Robin Williams
The beloved screen comedian is definitely on the hunt for a play.
He appeared on stage in New York in 1988 in a lackluster revival of "Waiting for Godot," directed by Mike Nichols and also starring Steve Martin.
Last year, there were rumors he was being wooed to step into "Spamalot" after Tim Curry left the show, but the idea never got much traction.
"Robin is not going to replace anybody," says a theater insider.
Word is he's looking for a "serious" play to do, but some producers wonder whether that's the right move.
Says one: "The public wants to see Robin Williams do something funny. They don't want to see 'Good Will Hunting' on stage. 'Spamalot' would have been the perfect vehicle."
Another producer says: "He'd be great in a new play, but he'd probably make the playwright very nervous. There won't be a lot of discipline to the performance."
Tom Hanks
No speculation here - the Oscar-winning actor very much wants to do a Broadway play.
His wife, Rita Wilson, will make her Broadway debut this summer in "Chicago," and it's thought Hanks will be hanging around backstage, soaking up the atmosphere (which, in a hit Broadway show like "Chicago," can be infectious fun).
In his early 20s, Hanks spent three years working at the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland, doing everything from building scenery to stitching costumes.
He also won a Cleveland Critics Circle Award playing Proteus in "Two Gentleman of Verona."
No word yet on the type of play Hanks wants to do, but, because he's such a good actor, producers say he could tackle a new script rather than play it safe and do a revival.
His agent should phone David Hare, the British writer who has a knack for turing out plays for stars - "Amy's View" (Judi Dench), "The Judas Kiss" (Liam Neeson), "The Breath of Life" (Dench and Maggie Smith) and the upcoming "The Vertical Hour" (Julianne Moore).
Tom Cruise
They are faint, to be sure, but put your ear to the ground on Shubert Alley and you will pick up rumblings about Cruise making his stage debut at some point in the not-too-distant future.
A well-regarded turn in a play might go a long way to restoring his credibility as a serious actor.
Right now, he's both a figure of ridicule and a movie star whose box office drawing power is on the wane.
"He would have to do a revival," says a producer. "It would be too risky to do new a play and be worried about the script and his performance at the same time."
Matt Damon
Damon appeared in the West End in Kenneth Lonergan's "This Is Our Youth" a few years ago. New York theater people who saw it said he was terrific.
Last year, he did a reading of a new Longergan play, "Hold on to Me, Darling," about a country singer.
Once again, people who saw him raved, and he came very close to doing the play but opted for a movie instead.
Hollywood's booked him for the forseeable future, but he's sure to appear on stage in New York one day.
Nicole Kidman
Like Damon, she's busy making movies for the next few years.
But every now and then you still hear she wants to do a play, probably in London's West End.
And a serious play, to boot.
Five years ago, she came close to starring in Ibsen's "The Lady From the Sea," hardly a cakewalk, at the Almeida Theater in London, but her divorce from Cruise scuttled those plans.
Robert Redford
A couple of years ago, the Hollywood icon - who began his career on the New York stage - was talking about returning to Broadway, where he last made a splash in Neil Simon's 1967 hit, "Barefoot in the Park."
Nothing came of it, and a close friend of his cautions: "I don't think he'll ever come back."
Still, the idea is enticing.
And how about pairing him with another movie icon who started off in the theater - Paul Newman?
Neil Simon has a new play, a sequel to "The Sunshine Boys," that might be the perfect the vehicle.
And talk about a run on the box office.
Broderick and Lane would have nothing on Redford and Newman.
We pick the perfect parts
Post theater critic Clive Barnes helps cast Hollywood's next leading actors in their perfect play:
* Tom Hanks
Handicap: A fine actor, but very limited stage experience, no previous Broadway credits. No Shakespeare (remember Denzel Washington) or musical.
Best Choice: Classy Chekhov, probably title-role in "Uncle Vanya."
Critics will say: Terrific, unless some limey playing Dr. Astrov stole the notices.
* Robin Williams
Handicap: Decent stage credits - seen at Lincoln Center with Steve Martin in "Waiting for Godot."
Best choice: Maybe Beckett again for the prestige. Try "Krapp's Last Tape."
Critics will say: When your movie career is in shambles even a revival of "Abie's Irish Rose" would stir up some buzz.
* Robert Redford
Handicap: A certain Broadway experience in the can. Last seen in "Barefoot in the Park" some 40 years ago. Have to be more careful with choice of lighting designer.
Best choice: If Paul Newman is available, how about "The Odd Couple" ? Next month the Brooks Atkinson Theatre will be available with sets already in place.
Critics will say: Who cares? He still has Sundance.
* Tom Cruise
Handicap: When under control a pretty fair actor, and would have as big a following as Julia Roberts. But thrives on the closeup ... and explosions.
Best choice: Easy. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."
Critics will say: You're kidding, right?
michael.riedel@nypost.com
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