J.J. Abrams Says Theater 'Saved My Life' as He Celebrates Broadway’s Other Desert Cities
The Tony-winning producer praises Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the starry cast while sharing what draws him to the stage
(Photo by Sergio Villarini for Broadway.com)
What to Know
- J.J. Abrams discusses producing Broadway’s Other Desert Cities and his theater roots
- The Tony-winning producer praises Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Allison Janney, Joe Keery and the full cast
- Abrams reflects on the electricity of live theater and the sense of play that brings him back to childhood
A master of the science fiction genre, J.J. Abrams has left his mark on cinema with films including Star Trek and Super 8. He created the television show Alias and co-created Lost and Fringe. Next up for Abrams is the film The Great Beyond, which he wrote, directed and co-produced. He's about as Hollywood as it gets, but theater was where he got his start. Abrams, who earned Tony Awards as a producer of Appropriate and the 2024 Sunset Boulevard revival, serves as a producer on the revival of Other Desert Cities. On opening night, Abrams celebrated actors he has worked with before—Allison Janney, Ed Harris and Lily Rabe—and praised Broadway newcomers Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Joe Keery.
For Abrams, the opening night excitement came down to the company bringing Jon Robin Baitz’s family drama to life. "The entire cast is remarkable," he says. "Julia is so damn good in this thing and is just off the charts. Allison is never anything but extraordinary. Joe is remarkable. Lily's incredible. Everyone in this cast brings it and they're just this amazing, delicious cocktail, this cast that we were so lucky to get." We'll drink to that!
Abrams credits Elizabeth Rothman, who heads his production company's theater division, Bad Robot Live, with helping him navigate theater. His own instincts for choosing a project come from imagining himself in the audience. “I'm still learning theater," he admits. "The fact is finding something where you just have that feeling in your gut that you want to be sitting in that audience, you want to be there that night watching with a crowd, feeling the electricity in the air. And as exciting as film and TV is, there's nothing like the live theater experience.”
His connection to theater precedes his work in film and television. “I think like most people who work in film, we started in school in theater doing this, and there was this magic to doing that. For me, I know that doing theater and play production in school, certainly in high school, kind of saved my life,” says Abrams. “Being in a theater during the day for rehearsals is maybe the most magical feeling and experience. And it does bring you back to that feeling of being a kid. There's a reason they call it a play. There's something about play that is just undeniable.” Now, Abrams gets to help create that magic for others.
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