Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival

[Jordan Catalano]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival#1

Posted: 5/25/26 at 11:27pm

Someone I follow on IG (Ben Lebofsky) just posted that last month, Ed Harris gave an interview to The Oklahoman saying rehearsals for the Broadway revival start in August. If this is happening, that’s some major news that nobody picked up on.
 

The article is here, though it is behind a paywall.

Updated On: 5/26/26 at 11:27 PM

[n2nbaby]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#2

Posted: 5/25/26 at 11:38pm

I don’t have a lot of money but LORD TAKE WHAT I HAVE!

[Esther2]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#3

Posted: 5/25/26 at 11:55pm

Here it is with no paywall if anyone is interested.

https://archive.ph/AAllY

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#4

Posted: 5/26/26 at 12:07am

great play...but do we really already need a revival?

Going to be hard to top the original production. 

I have to assume this is a Rudin production 

[inception]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#5

Posted: 5/26/26 at 12:37am

Sweaty O picked the story from that reel as well and posted a quick story late this afternoon about that.

Could this be at Lincoln Center?

...

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#6

Posted: 5/26/26 at 1:55am

someone on reddit is claiming it is going into the Hudson after EBT 

[Matt Rogers]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#7

Posted: 5/26/26 at 4:04am

The OBC was something to behold especially Stockard. 

 Will Allison finally enjoy a decent run on Broadway? 

[rosscoe(au)]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#8

Posted: 5/26/26 at 4:34am

While I enjoyed in LA when I saw the tour, I’m not sure if this is necessary. The cast yes, but maybe not the play! 

Well I didn't want to get into it, but he's a Satanist. Every full moon he sacrifices 4 puppies to the Dark Lord and smears their blood on his paino. This should help you understand the score for Wicked a little bit more. Tazber's: Reply to Is Stephen Schwartz a Practicing Christian

[Matt Rogers]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#9

Posted: 5/26/26 at 7:25am

Matt Rogers said: "The OBC was something to behold especially Stockard.

Will Allison finally enjoy a decent run on Broadway?"

I did not post the above message. Site is glitching out. AGAIN. 

[Kad]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#10

Posted: 5/26/26 at 8:02am

Count me in as excited for the cast but not as hot on the play itself. That original cast and Mantello’s direction elevated what I thought was a fairly boilerplate entry into the “secrets revealed family drama” genre. Would much rather see that trio in August: Osage County or a new work.

"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."

[DurantPlummer41]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#11

Posted: 5/26/26 at 8:22am

I also agree with the general sentiment that the original cast and Mantello elevated the material. Whereas the thought of this cast taking on August Osage County thrills me!

[ColorTheHours048]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#12

Posted: 5/26/26 at 8:50am

I would see those ladies in truly anything. (Even The Gin Game!) But yeah, Other Desert Cities is an unexciting plot twist in search of a play. The only meaty roles are the aunt and the daughter.

That said, my ticket is already as good as purchased if this happens.

[rosscoe(au)]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#13

Posted: 5/26/26 at 8:57am

I would rather have a gender swapped Death and The Maiden as the two ladies as lesbians.  

Well I didn't want to get into it, but he's a Satanist. Every full moon he sacrifices 4 puppies to the Dark Lord and smears their blood on his paino. This should help you understand the score for Wicked a little bit more. Tazber's: Reply to Is Stephen Schwartz a Practicing Christian

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#14

Posted: 5/26/26 at 8:59am

JLD is a huge get. Producers have been trying to court her for years.

[AC126748]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#15

Posted: 5/26/26 at 8:59am

At its core, Other Desert Cities is a showcase for actors, so it doesn’t surprise me that it would be catnip for a big-name revival. I saw the original three times (once at the Newhouse, twice on Broadway), and I remember thinking that, even with Mantello’s talent as a director, the production felt like you were watching five siloed star performances rather than something cohesive. This isn’t to say it wasn’t thrilling — but it was a case of the whole not quite adding up to the sum of its parts. I’d be curious to see what a new directorial vision would do for the play. Assuming it won’t be updated, too, I wonder how the political angle will work in a world that’s moved far beyond the early 2000s milieu of the script. 
 

Harris seems an excellent choice for Lyman. Louis-Dreyfuss and Janney both strike me as Silda types. 

"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body

[quizking101]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#16

Posted: 5/26/26 at 9:10am

Yeah - Janney and JLD are both giving Silda, though I have the feeling that Janney is going into the Polly role.

I’ll be honest, if that’s the case, I have hesitations because Janney can assuredly play either role, but I’m having trouble blocking out Judith Light’s indelible Silda enough to envision JLD in the role 

Check out my eBay page for sales on Playbills!! www.ebay.com/usr/missvirginiahamm

[herecomesmama]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#17

Posted: 5/26/26 at 9:32am

Broadway reddit said this is happening and so is Three Days of Rain with Francois Arnaud and A Few Good Men with Bradley Whitford. 

[Kad]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#18

Posted: 5/26/26 at 10:07am

Just received a press release confirming this, with further casting in Lily Rabe and Joe Keery. Directed by John Benjamin Hickey. Hudson Theater, Sept 29- Jan 17.  Amex presale tomorrow. 

Julia is Polly and Allison is Silda. 

"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."

Updated On: 5/26/26 at 10:07 AM

[ColorTheHours048]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#19

Posted: 5/26/26 at 10:19am

If they True West-ed this, I’d see it a minimum of four times.

[willep]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#20

Posted: 5/26/26 at 10:36am

Good Lord, I love every one of these people.

[MemorableUserName]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#21

Posted: 5/26/26 at 10:36am

Deadline

Julia Louis-Dreyfus To Make Broadway Debut This Fall In ‘Other Desert Cities’ With Ed Harris, Allison Janney, Joe Keery & Lily Rabe

https://deadline.com/2026/05/julia-louis-dreyfus-broadway-other-desert-cities-ed-harris-1236920897/

 

[MadsonMelo]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#22

Posted: 5/26/26 at 10:40am

Janney wants that Triple Crown!

[Auggie27]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#23

Posted: 5/26/26 at 10:44am

I'll be the outlier here, I love the play, own a copy, and find that I can open it anywhere and smile at its wit. It's an old school family drama, yes, but it delivers everything it promises, its second act revelations are some of the most fascinating - and ever relevant in 2026 America - secrets in this genre. Baitz crafted a wildly entertaining dramedy, and every role is gold. If there's a question mark here, it's how the two female stars can duplicate the perfect synergy of Channing and Light, but these are comic actors with great depth to their work. I am beyond excited. 

"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling

Updated On: 5/26/26 at 10:44 AM

[kingfan011]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#24

Posted: 5/26/26 at 10:47am

Kad said: "Count me in as excited for the cast but not as hot on the play itself. That original cast and Mantello’s directionelevated what I thought was a fairlyboilerplate entry into the “secrets revealed family drama” genre. Would much rather see that trio in August: Osage County or a new work."

Will they ever revive August Osage COunty

[Kad]

Ed Harris, Allison Janney & Julia Louis Dreyfuss - OTHER DESERT CITIES Revival??#25

Posted: 5/26/26 at 10:49am

It’s surprising we’re seeing ODC before Osage, but I have to imagine the cost of such a large cast is what is probably most holding a revival of Osage back. 

"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."