As someone who attends a great deal of Broadway theater, I am a little nonplussed about the “star effect” that many producers have increasingly introduced to that wondrous island of American theater between 55th and 41st Streets (my apologies to Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont a few blocks north). Oftentimes when Rodeo Drive meets Broadway, the results can be disastrous (I love you, Julia Roberts, but your turn in the Broadway play, “Three Days of Rain” . . . Ouch!!).

The tragedy of human foibles gone too far is the centerpiece of this work that has taken up brief residence on Broadway. Tens of thousands have flocked to the theater this fall to witness the well known personal catastrophe that this famous film performer portrays on stage eight times a week. It is a familiar story, one of betrayal within the family, one where the protagonist is lost, devastated and searching for a way out of the madness of her existence. This is a story worthy of Shakespeare’s quill.