Julia Roberts is returning to Broadway early next year in the experimental play "Small Mouth Sounds," which follows a silence retreat. The production will bring together Roberts and Paul Rudd, who previously shared the stage in their only prior Broadway experience together: the 2006 production of "Three Days of Rain." They will be joined by Martin Freeman, Greta Lee, Sarah Paulson, and Isaac Powell in the cast.
The 2015 play, written by Bess Wohl, will be directed by Joe Mantello and produced by Scott Rudin and Barry Diller, the duo who won Tony Awards this year for the successful Broadway revival of "Death of a Salesman."
Mantello, Rudin, and Diller will also work together on a production of "Downstate," a 2018 tragicomedy written by Bruce Norris and set in a group home for sex offenders. Both playwrights have previously won the Pulitzer Prize for other works, and both plays are critically acclaimed, though they present commercial challenges due to their inclusion of moments of silence and complex themes.
