''Dead Accounts'' is a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

play written by

Theresa Rebeck Theresa Rebeck (born February 19, 1958) is an American playwright, television writer, and novelist. Her work has appeared on the Broadway and Off-Broadway stage, in film, and on television. Among her awards are the Mystery Writers of America's E ...

. The comedy premiered at the

Music Box Theatre The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, the Music Box Theatre was designed by C. Howard Crane in a Palladian-inspir ...

on November 29, 2012 and closed on January 6, 2013. The production starred

Norbert Leo Butz Norbert Leo Butz (born January 30, 1967) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his work in Broadway theatre. He is a two-time winner of the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, and is one of only nine actors ever to have won the ...

and

Katie Holmes Kate Noelle Holmes (born December 18, 1978) is an American actress. She first achieved fame as Joey Potter on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003). Holmes made her feature film debut in 1997 with a supporting role in Ang Lee ...

, and was directed by Jack O'Brien.

Production

''Dead Accounts'' opened on Broadway at the

Music Box Theater The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, the Music Box Theatre was designed by C. Howard Crane in a Palladian-inspir ...

on November 29, 2012. The play was first performed at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in February 2012. The Broadway production was directed by Jack O'Brien, and starred

and

, in her return to Broadway (after her 2008 debut in '' All My Sons''). Initially only a 16-week run on Broadway, it was announced that ''Dead Accounts'' would close early due to poor ticket sales. The last performance was on January 6, 2013.

Premise

''Dead Accounts'' centers on Jack's unexpected return to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, after spending several years in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

His family, included his sister Lorna, and mother Barbara, immediately suspect he is in some sort of trouble. This is confirmed when Jack's soon-to-be ex-wife, Jenny arrives, and reveals Jack has stolen 27 million dollars.

Characters and Broadway cast

*Jack, a banker from New York who returns to his home in Ohio —

*Lorna, Jack's sister, who lives at home to take care of her aging parents —

*Barbra, Jack's mother —

Jayne Houdyshell Jayne Houdyshell (born September 25, 1953) is an American, Tony-winning actress known for her performances on stage and screen. Houdyshell made her Broadway debut in the 2005 production of ''It's a Wonderful Life''. The following year she earn ...

*Phil, Jack's best friend —

Josh Hamilton Joshua Holt Hamilton (born May 21, 1981) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from to , most prominently as a member of the Texas Rangers teams that won two consecutive Americ ...

*Jenny, Jack's estranged wife —

Judy Greer Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress, who has appeared in a wide variety of films. She first rose to prominence in a variety of suppor ...

Reception

''Dead Accounts'' received mixed-to-negative reviews from most critics. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' called the comedy "engaging, but unsatisfying", but said Holmes was not believable.

Ben Brantley Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 to ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' criticized the show for not settling on a single tone or subject matter. However, he did praise Butz's performance, as well as the supporting parts of Hamilton and Greer. Brantley also noted that Holmes was more at ease than she was in her 2008 Broadway debut in ''All My Sons''.

References

{{reflist 2012 plays Broadway plays Plays by Theresa Rebeck Plays set in Ohio Cincinnati in fiction