Which "movie stars" do you think will return to Broadway?

I've been seeing a lot of cynical comments (not just here, but online at other places), that now some of these big Hollywood stars have got the Stage glory they were looking for, they won't neccesarily be back anytime soon, as they've ticked "succesful stage actor" off their resume's. That they were basically just hit and run merchants. I don't neccearily think that's true in most of the cases. Here's whom I think will be back within the next few years.

Catharine Zeta Jones: She's a huge star in the "celebrity" sense, but she's not really a huge movie star anymore is she? And she's on the wrong side of 40 for the film industry. I could see her doing Broadway on a regular basis. The only thing that concerns me is the amount of time she had to take off sick. THat might affect her willingness to do longer runs. Actually, CZJ could go either way...part of me thinks, that now she has her Tony award, if she wonders whether the daily grind of theatre is still worth the hassel. She's probably more concerned about completing the mythical EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). She's got half of it...now I think she'll do some television to get that Emmy, and do some sort of album for a Grammy.

Jude Law: One of those guys for whom stage is in the blood. Can see him becoming a full time theatre actor when the movie career winds down. I do think he'll keep his toe in the theatre every few years, at least in London, if not Broadway.

Denzel Washington: Fences was his second Broadway show in 5 years (after Julius Ceasar), which is almost unheard of for an Hollywood A-lister like him. He genuinely loves the stage, and I think he finds it a lot more fufilling than a lot of the movies he's doing lately. I think he'll be back on Broadway quite soon....within the next 2-3 years, maybe. He's also Broadway's biggest box office star, according to Michael Reidel. Combined with his critical success for Fences, he'll be offered everything under the Sun by producers to make a return as soon as possible.

It's too early to say for Scarlett Johansson. She's been a punching bag for movie critics lately, so she may find more solace in stage work (though she shouldn't expect critical acclaim every time she does stage, either). Guys like Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber are already seen as regular returners.
Some movie stars ho returned to stage in recent years had a torrid time, and I don't see them coming back anytime soon (Terrence Howard and Morgan Freeman spring to mind).

Updated On: 6/16/10 at 01:58 AM

I think CZJ will easily be back. The absences really aren't that big of a deal. She's the only one of these stars that signed a 6 month contract. That says a lot right there. The others did/are doing short limited runs.

Plays also cost less than musicals. Anyway, there are rumblings that Night Music will indeed recoup.

Updated On: 6/16/10 at 02:10 AM

To be fair, it probably cost more to run NIGHT MUSIC then FENCES or BRIDGE.

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I like CZJ, but she hasn't been in a succesful movie in years. She's not considered a box office draw by studios, and her Oscar for Chicago aside, she's not one of those actresses that's regarded as "awards bait" by studios (like Cate Blanchett, Laura Linney or Kate Winslet), which helps you get cast in quality films even if you aren't a big draw. Her film career has been treading water for awhile now....she's made several in the last few years, it's just that no one really cared. For CZJ, more than any of the other big stars, Broadway was more of a neccesary move to re-ignite her career. The Tony may have helped her get noticed by producers in Hollywood again.

Updated On: 6/16/10 at 02:40 AM

By all accounts, CZJ turned down Nine because her part was practically a cameo role/walk-on. I think she felt insulted, that in previous years, she would have been offered to big female leads that went to Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard. I think Nicole Kidman only accepted CZJ's part, as a respite from having to burden the responsibility of being the lead all the time, and to work with the cast, paricularly Daniel Day Lewis, whom most actresses seem to love.

Nine was a disaster that she was fortunate to avoid, but if CZJ had been offered one of the bigger parts, she'd have done it in a shot. To be honest though, I don't think Nine will really affect the careers of any of the actors (maybe Daniel Day Lewis won't be offered anymore musical leads, thankfully). Rob Marshall is probably going to be in Director Jail for awhile though.

Updated On: 6/16/10 at 02:49 AM

Well, Rob Marshall is already set to direct PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 4 with Oscar-nominee Johnny Depp and Oscar winners Penelope Cruz and Geoffrey Rush, so I think he's kind of doing alright.
Nicole Kidman has said openly that she took NINE because she wanted to have a small role that would still allow her to be with her newborn baby. There's also the fact she loved and respected Anthony Minghella and the project sounded good on paper.
Zeta-Jones is a movie star, she's not a BO draw necessarily, but I highly doubt she's having to beg directors to cast her in movies. She's not like Meg Ryan, Melanie Griffith, Geena Davis, Helen Hunt and other actresses who probably do need to beg casting directors to even let them in an audition room. She's respected, she's an Oscar winner and she's married to Hollywood royalty. I imagine she'll return to Broadway if the right role comes along and at the right moment. I'd love to see her in a musical that requires more singing and obviously, a much stronger production than the hit-and-miss NIGHT MUSIC revival she's a part of.
I don't know if Scarlett Johansson will return or not, I imagine she will, but not anytime soon. I'd love for her to do as much theatre as she can, I thought she was terrific on stage. She's someone else whose film career is not faltering, she was Woody Allen's muse for some time, is a BAFTA winner for Lead Actress and is in the only real blockbuster of the summer so far. Will see what she decides to do about her new stage career.

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" Zeta-Jones may have sold well, but not well enough for her show to recoup."

The Night Music grosses are consistently really good...I don't know why it hasn't recouped yet.

About 23M in grosses..the startup costs were something like 5 million. It must be costing over $600,000 a week to run if it hasn't recouped yet, right? (Bad producing?)

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Arguably yes :P (which I thought has been accounted for in the 5 million startup costs).

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I think CZJ, Scarlett, and Denzel will all be back. Relatively soon too.

How 'bout Jeremy Piven? I must admit I'm so curious about that rotten apple. I mean, I just wanna know if he's ever going to try! Though I can't imagine any investors being willing to take a chance on him.

I doubt he'd be able to get insured after the stunt he pulled in Speed-the-Plow. It's a shame, as he was really good, but he's just not reliable.

I definitely see Scarlett returning, especially after her Tony win. Denzel said in an interview that, now that he's more than financially secure and his children are grown, he plans to do more theatre--a play every few years.

Catherine Zeta-Jones could well become the next Lauren Bacall, who turned to theatre when her film career was on the wane and found a real second home.

Not film stars, but I'm sure that the theatre vets from Glee will be back on the boards at some point. Does anybody know if there's any truth to that rumor about Morrison returning for the last two weeks of South Pacific?

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Denzel's Broadway debut was the 1988 play Checkmates, and he has a long history of off-Broadway work (the original A Soldier's Play, lots of stuff at the Public). He has a long history of doing theatre.

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Denzel has said repeatedly how much he loves returning to the stage to work on his craft so whether it's Broadway or somewhere else he'll certainly return. Scarlett has also said that this experience was better than she even could have imagined and she will come back when the right project presents itself. I personally can't wait to see her again after her stellar debut.

Julia Roberts is another person who has recently expressed interest in returning sometime soon. If and when she does, just like for her last show I will be first in line the day tickets go on sale and see it over and over and over and over again. God, I love that woman.