CALL ME IZZY Previews

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 5/23/25 at 12:00am

Jean Smart has got the write stuff.

The “Hacks” Emmy winner kicks off the 2025-26 Broadway season, returning to the Main Stem with her one-person show Call Me Izzy, starting previews tomorrow (May 24) at Studio 54. The $5.4 million dark comedy is written by CBS News correspondent Jamie Wax; Sarna Lapine directs. Call Me Izzy opens on June 12 for a limited run through August 17.

“Jean Smart returns to Broadway for 12 weeks only in a tour-de-force portrayal of a writer whose words are her greatest gift, her biggest secret, and her only way out. Written by Jamie Wax and directed by Sarna Lapine, Call Me Izzy is a can’t-miss theatrical event and a moving portrait of one woman’s refusal to be silenced through her own sheer tenacity, humor, and fiery imagination.”

Who’s going?                                                            

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 5/23/25 at 1:46pm

The play will have a $49 digital rush through the TodayTix app.

Criterion Ticketing lists an 85-minute running time, no intermission. 

Updated On: 5/23/25 at 01:46 PM

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 5/23/25 at 1:58pm

There was no way I was going to miss this, but last night’s episode of Hacks made this essential viewing. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 5/23/25 at 7:19pm

Johanna Day just announced as Smart's standby. 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 5/23/25 at 7:21pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "Johanna Day just announced as Smart's standby."

I hope she gets a chance to go on.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/23/25 at 7:51pm

That’s just as exciting as Jean Smart!!

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 5/24/25 at 1:50am

How is a one person play costing 5.4 million dollars? for reference Guttenberg which was a two person musical with a three piece band and two stars only cost 6.75 million. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 5/24/25 at 7:56am

1) Jean Smart probably commands a higher salary than both of them combined.

2) We don’t know the design elements yet that may contribute to the cost.

3) girl, inflation…

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 5/24/25 at 8:43am

I’m always amused when people base production costs on the size of the cast and what they see on stage completely ignoring there are more people working backstage than on stage. Also, production costs include marketing plus other factors. I’m quite sure Jean Smart negotiated a nice salary as well as she’s now a 6 time Emmy Award winner and stars in an acclaimed HBO MAX series HACKS so that alone I’m sure is taking up a large part of the show’s investment. 

[ScottK]

Posted: 5/24/25 at 6:45pm

Please note that the "official" capitalization is $4.9 (and a big portion of the budget is advg, and recoverable bonds)

[JSquared2]

Posted: 5/24/25 at 6:50pm

ScottK said: "Please note that the "official" capitalization is $4.9 (and a big portion of the budget is advg, and recoverable bonds)"

What recoupable bonds are you referring to?  There are 2 AEA actors (plus stage managers), no musicians, and I'd assume a minimal run crew.

 

[Fordham2015]

Posted: 5/24/25 at 7:14pm

Merch is pretty clever, with lots of Smart puns

https://www.broadwaymerchandiseshop.com/collections/call-me-izzy

[Bwaygurl2]

Posted: 5/24/25 at 8:59pm

Fordham2015 said: "Merch is pretty clever, with lots of Smart puns

https://www.broadwaymerchandiseshop.com/collections/call-me-izzy"

 

It never occurred to me that the title was a reference to Moby Dick (at least the coffee cup alludes to it). 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 5/24/25 at 10:34pm

How did tonight go?

[AlmostFamous3]

Posted: 5/24/25 at 11:29pm

A few quick thoughts on tonight’s performance:

This was nowhere near 85 minutes—tonight’s show ran closer to 2 hours, including a small technical mishap at the beginning (about 3–5 minutes). I’m sure they’ll eventually tighten it up and turn it into a solid 90-minute play.

Jean was terrific in a somewhat predictable storyline about an abusive husband (plenty of Waitress flashbacks). That said, the set was a major disappointment. The play is mostly set in a trailer park, but instead of an actual trailer, we get a chair and a bathroom stall for about 80% of the show. The set was so underwhelming and sparse that it was often confusing to tell where scenes were supposed to be taking place.

That said, Jean is truly exceptional, and I’d recommend seeing this purely as a masterclass in acting. The ending is also strong, and with some tightening to bring it closer to the advertised 85 minutes, this could really become something special.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 5/25/25 at 10:40am

The monodrama has been a challenge to reinvigorate. I think of plays as different as Belle of Amherst, Shirley Valentine and The Year of Magical Thinking. The issue for me always "who is being addressed," and every solo show has its own conceit. Sometimes it's an understood omniscient auditor, sometimes the theater audience, sometimes one person later identified, sometimes the character's inner self. Can anyone who attends share who's listening here? If it doesn't spoil too much? I'm as interested in how the play works as Smart's obvious skill at holding an audience. The form never ceases to intrigue. 

[SteveSanders]

Posted: 5/25/25 at 11:25am

I do love me a good production of Shirley Valentine and there are so many women who would do great in that role.

[MusicalGuy3]

Posted: 5/25/25 at 11:41am

So looking forward to seeing this one on Tuesday!  This story + Jean Smart!

[quizking101]

Posted: 5/25/25 at 6:50pm

Just got out.
The play started at 2:05 and ended about 3:50.
Honestly, the show itself is just meant to be a vehicle for Smart, but the bar for one person shows has been so high in recent years (with Dorian Gray and Vanya coming to mind) that this might have as well just been “Jean Smart Acts Out A Lifetime Movie”.

The plot is thin and, more or less, is about how she got in and out of writing poetry during turbulent periods of her life, including an abusive marriage - she plays Izzy and all of the others in her life. It takes a twist when a very personal poem is published and she gains unwanted attention from it. Sarna Lapine did a brief speech pre-show about how it’s the second preview so things may happen or may need to be adjusted. Additionally, although the set is sparse (with some bathroom and patio fixtures and sliding curtains like the ones Maybe Happy Ending has), Studio 54 is WAYYYY too big for this. It would be right at home at the Lortel or the Audible Minetta Lane

I feel bad for saying this because this is Jean Smart’s grand return to the stage, but this needed more time in the cooker and a smaller venue and, on first viewing, makes me question if Smart is going to end up doing more heavy lifting of the script than she needs to and if it’s worth going just for her.

Updated On: 5/25/25 at 06:50 PM

[rburton66]

Posted: 5/25/25 at 9:20pm

quizking101 said: 
this might have as well just been “Jean Smart Acts Out A Lifetime Movie”.


Totally get why this would be a detractor for many, but it has me completely sold on seeing it. I love her TV movie A Change of Heart where she finds out her husband’s gay. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 5/26/25 at 11:02am

rburton66 said: "quizking101 said:
this might have as well just been “Jean Smart Acts Out A Lifetime Movie”.


Totally get why this would be a detractor for many, but it has me completely sold on seeing it. I love her TV movie A Change of Heartwhere she finds out her husband’s gay."

I don’t mind the genre, but I think both Smart and Broadway both deserved better especially since, as I mentioned, the one-person show has had the bar raised A LOT lately.

This will be a great piece for regional theatres for actresses of a certain age though 

Updated On: 5/26/25 at 11:02 AM

[PrinceAli]

Posted: 5/26/25 at 1:01pm

So amazing! We have to know when she is going on! 

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 5/26/25 at 1:08pm

For those who’ve seen, does this seem like something better left for the end of the run? I’m seeing this without question, but suddenly glad I didn’t get access to the 100 first two week tickets. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 5/26/25 at 1:39pm

Play Esq. said: "For those who’ve seen, does this seem like something better left for the end of the run? I’m seeing this without question, but suddenly glad I didn’t get access to the 100 first two week tickets."

I mean, it’s only been two previews of a play that has never seen an audience before, so that alone should probably indicate changes are coming. It has potential, but I don’t think there’s going to be anything major in terms of story structure changed during previews and so you may end up seeing just a slightly more polished mess

[kurtal]

Posted: 5/27/25 at 10:57pm

This was...not it for me.

Jean Smart is great, of course.  But as others have noted, it's a predictable lifetime movie domestic abuse story.  The structure of the piece is confusing.  It's unclear when in the protagonist's life we are at the start and end of the play.  

And Smart seems miscast for what the play is meant to be.  While it's certainly ambiguous, the piece seems to be about a woman in her 40s at most.  And, while certainly bringing a youthful energy that belies her age, Smart is still in her 70s.

I was also both surprised and unsurprised that the play was written by a cisgender straight man.  Given the power and nuance of works like Prima Facie and How I Learned to Drive (which deal with different but related issues), this feels...outdated?  Out of touch?  

See it for Smart if that's important to you.  Otherwise, *shrug*