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Jean Smart Returns to Broadway

After a 25-year break, Jean Smart has triumphantly returned to the Broadway stage. The enthusiastic reviews from critics have earned her performance in the new one-woman production "Call Me Izzy" rave reviews.

A Dark Comedic Portrait

The piece, written by Sarna Lapine and directed by Sarna Lapine, is a dark comedic portrait of a brilliant but naive woman in Louisiana, caught in an abusive marriage, whose secret talent for writing is both her greatest gift and her only way out. The production, which opened in Studio 54 on Thursday, marks the six-time Emmy winner’s third time on Broadway.

Critical Acclaim

Smart, 73, made her debut with Hollywood darling Marlene Dietrich in the biographical piece from 1981 "Piaf". Later, she led George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s revival of 2000 "The Man Who Came to Dinner", for which she deserved a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Play. Smart’s long-awaited Broadway return has impressed critics, who described her representation of Izzy as "dazzling". Diversity’s Frank Rizzo described it as "breathtaking and soulful performance".

Mixed Reviews

Although Rizzo found the writing to be "too familiar", he praised Smart for intelligently elevating the material and making "Izzy’s story fresh, authentic, and always convincing". The Guardian’s Adrian Horton agreed that Smart’s performance was "magnetic", but had stronger criticism of the story itself, writing that it is "the theatrical equivalent of the poverty porn that has been baiting Oscar voters for years".

Future Performances

Name Me Izzy runs in Studio 54 until August 17th. Despite mixed reviews, Jean Smart’s performance has been widely praised, and her return to Broadway is a notable event in the theater world.