Name: I Need That on Broadway
Start: 2023-10-13
End: 2023-12-30
Location: Todd Haimes Theatre

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Danny DeVito stars in the play *I Need That* on Broadway in fall 2023.

Danny DeVito is an Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor known for television and film roles including Louie De Palma in *Taxi*, Frank Reynolds in *It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia*, and Harry Wormwood in *Matilda*. He has also performed on Broadway and in the West End and produced and directed many television shows and movies.

Born November 17, 1944, he was raised in Asbury Park, New Jersey. While working for his sister’s beauty salon, he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City to learn more about makeup artistry. However, once he took a few acting classes, he decided to be a performer. DeVito performed in several Off-Broadway plays before landing the role that would launch his career: Martini in the Off-Broadway adaptation of *One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest*. He was later cast in the 1975 film adaptation, which ultimately led to his breakout role of Louie De Palma in the hit sitcom *Taxi*. As Louie, DeVito earned a Golden Globe and Emmy Award.

DeVito’s career skyrocketed after *Taxi*, as he received roles in numerous films throughout the '80s and '90s, including *Terms of Endearment*, *Ruthless People*, and *Batman Returns*. During this time, he also began directing and producing. He founded his production company, Jersey Films, in 1991, and produced popular films like *Pulp Fiction*, *Erin Brockovich*, and *Garden State*. He starred in many of the movies he directed, such as *The War of Roses*, *Matilda*, and *Hoffa*. DeVito’s career also stretched into voiceover work, which notably included Philoctetes in Disney’s *Hercules*.

DeVito spent much of the 2000s and 2010s playing Frank Reynolds in the long-running sitcom *It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia*. He also made his Broadway debut in 2017 as Gregory Solomon in Arthur Miller’s *The Price*, which earned him a Tony nomination.

In fall 2023, DeVito returns to Broadway in the world premiere of Theresa Rebeck's *I Need That*, which he stars in alongside his daughter, Lucy DeVito.

Danny DeVito - NY

The vintage board game Sorry! wasn't designed to be played alone. Leave it to Emmy winner [Danny DeVito](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/danny-devito), who shines as the aimless widow Sam in *I Need That*, to turn the unlikely moment into a theatrical highlight that’s silly, sad, and, no joke, poetic. 

After all, it’s an original way of indicating Sam is knee-deep in sorrow. He’s also buried in clutter, one more ratty afghan shy of being a shut-in hoarder. 

Otherwise, Theresa Rebeck’s wispy comedy about love, loss, and coping with the aftermath, is all too expected. It seeks to say something significant and memorable but doesn’t quite get there.

Early on in the Roundabout Theatre Company production, which runs about 100 intermissionless minutes, we learn Sam is up against the clock. His nosy New Jersey neighbor peeked through his windows, photographed his hell house, and contacted the authorities. Set designer Alexander Dodge’s residential setting neatly captures the chaos of books, blankets, magazines, old appliances, dishes — you name it. 

Sam has ignored official warning letters. The fire department is coming in a week, and his home will be condemned. Sam, a walking unmade bed, will be on the streets. But Sam is moved to inaction.

Rebeck (*Bernhardt/Hamlet*, *Seminar*) is a witty writer. She initially plays the circumstances for laughs. “You have to figure out what you want to keep, and what you can let go,” Sam says. “It’s like *Sophie’s Choice*.”

His bossy but well-meaning daughter, Amelia (Lucy DeVito, the daughter of the show’s star), who’s hunting for a job and has issues of her own, loudly disagrees. She says it’s the final scene in *Carrie*, “where the house is so full of terrible things it just sucks itself into the earth.”

Foster (Ray Anthony Thomas), Sam’s only friend, shows support by popping in regularly with croissants and hamburgers. The generosity is a smoke screen. Foster uses his visits to snatch valuables – pieces of jewelry, collectible treasures – when he thinks Sam isn’t looking. But Sam knows what Foster is up to and doesn’t care. 

Sam is adrift from the loss of his beloved wife, Ginny, who died three years earlier. He has tried to preserve every book, knickknack, ancient TV set, parlor game, and trinket that holds any recollection of Ginny. She “disappeared” into what’s never named but sounds like Alzheimer’s.

At this point the mood turns serious. The cast, directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel, hugs the tonal contours skillfully. From the get-go, it’s a safe bet that Sam and his home will transform. Thanks to a late-in-the-game twist, he also gets a shot to step up as a dad. 

In the end, *I Need That* is pleasant but leaves you wanting. “Things don’t give your life meaning. People do,” Amelia declares, as if it’s a newsflash. Sorry — it doesn't take a play to know that.

[*I Need That* is at the American Airlines Theatre through December 30. Get *I Need That* tickets on New York Theatre Guide.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/28198-i-need-that-tickets)

*Photo credit: Danny DeVito in I Need That. (Photo by Joan Marcus)*

'I Need That' review — Danny DeVito holds tight to the spotlight in shining performance

Read our review of *I Need That* on Broadway, a new play by Theresa Rebeck starring Danny DeVito, at the American Airlines Theatre through December 30.

The Todd Haimes Theatre was originally designed by George Keister as an Italian Renaissance-style theatre. The venue opened in 1918 as the Selwyn Theatre, named for its developers, Edgar and Archibald Selwyn. The first show to play there was Jane Cowl's *Information Please*.

Over the course of its history, the building has been used as a theatre, a cinema, and a visitor center until it fell into a derelict state of disrepair. Roundabout Theatre Company took ownership of the venue in 1997, but the building collapsed, so the company rebuilt the Selwyn as part of the New 42nd Street Building in 1999. The theatre was renamed for American Airlines on June 30, 2000; the company donated $8.5 million to help cover renovation costs.

On February 1, 2024, the venue was renamed in memory of Todd Haimes, the artistic director of Roundabout Theatre Company from 1983 until his death in 2023.

## How to get to the Todd Haimes Theatre on Broadway

The Todd Haimes Theatre is situated on 42nd Street between Eighth Avenue and Broadway. By subway, it is accessible by the A, C, E, 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W, and S lines to 42nd Street.

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