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Lily Rabe is celebrating her return to Broadway in Other Desert Cities, a play she fell in love with years ago and has long dreamed of performing in
The Tony-nominated actress stars alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ed Harris, Allison Janney and Joe Keery in the revival of Jon Robin Baitz’s acclaimed family drama
Rabe, whose stage credits include The Merchant of Venice, Steel Magnolias and Ghosts, tells PEOPLE why she loves the discoveries that come with performing live every night
Lily Rabe has spent more than two decades building an impressive career across stage and screen, becoming a fan favorite for her memorable transformations in multiple seasons of American Horror Story.
But for all the characters she’s brought to life, there’s one she’s been waiting years to play.
The Tony-nominated actress, 44, is back on Broadway in the first revival of Jon Robin Baitz’s acclaimed family drama Other Desert Cities, starring alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ed Harris, Allison Janney and Joe Keery. And as she tells PEOPLE, stepping into the role of Brooke Wyeth — a troubled writer whose plans to publish a revealing memoir threaten to tear her family apart — is the realization of a longtime ambition.
“I loved this play so much when I saw it, that I’ve always wanted to play this part,” Rabe says, at the show’s opening night on Sunday, Oct. 18. “It’s a real dream to get to do it and to get to do it with these people.”
“It really does feel like a homecoming of sorts,” she adds, of her return to Broadway. “I love being a part of this community, and getting to do this play is such an honor.”
Ed Harris and Lily Rabe in ‘Other Desert Cities’ on Broadway
Credit: Emilio Madrid
It’s easy to understand the appeal. Brooke is the kind of complicated, emotionally demanding character that has long brought out the best in Rabe, an actress unafraid to explore the messier, more uncomfortable corners of human behavior.
And she’s surrounded by an equally accomplished ensemble in a production that brings Baitz’s celebrated drama back to Broadway for the first time in 15 years.
Directed by Tony Award winner John Benjamin Hickey, the revival began previews at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre on Sept. 29 and officially opened Oct. 18. Its limited engagement is scheduled to continue through Jan. 17, 2027.
Joe Keery and Lily Rabe in ‘Other Desert Cities’ on Broadway
Credit: Emilio Madrid
Originally produced Off-Broadway by Lincoln Center Theater before transferring to Broadway in 2011, Other Desert Cities earned widespread acclaim for its exploration of family loyalty, political divisions and the complicated relationship between truth and memory. The original production — which starred Rachel Griffiths in Rabe’s role — was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and received five Tony Award nominations, winning one.
For Rabe, the opportunity to revisit the material with a new company of actors has only deepened her appreciation for Baitz’s prose. “This writing means so much to me. It’s so wonderful,” she tells PEOPLE. “It’s a privilege to get to say these words every night.”
The actress also believes the story has lost none of its relevance in the years since its original production.
Asked what she hopes audiences take away from the revival, Rabe pointed to the ways the play’s political themes intersect with the deeply personal conflicts at its center.
“Listen, let’s swing some votes that need to be swung,” she said. “But I think both politically and personally, and the two of course overlap in so many ways, I think there really is something for everyone to hook onto.”
She also suggested that theatergoers unfamiliar with the story should prepare for a few surprises.
“I think for anyone who hasn’t seen the play, they will be surprised,” Rabe said. “I’ve had some people come to the play, really some of the smartest people I know, say, ‘I’ve always been able to see what was coming and I didn’t with this play.'”
Lily Rabe, Joe Keery and Julia Louis-Dreyfus in ‘Other Desert Cities’ on Broadway
Credit: Emilio Madrid
Though Rabe has become a familiar face to television audiences, her relationship with the stage stretches back more than two decades.
She made her Broadway debut in the 2005 revival of Steel Magnolias, playing Annelle Dupuy-Desoto and earning a Drama Desk Award nomination for her performance. She subsequently appeared in productions of Heartbreak House and The American Plan before taking on one of her most celebrated roles: Portia opposite Al Pacino in the 2010 Broadway revival of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.
That performance earned Rabe a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play, further establishing her as one of her generation’s most accomplished stage performers.
Lily Rabe takes her opening night bow alongside Al Pacino in the 2010 Broadway revival of ‘The Merchant of Venice.’
Credit: Walter McBride/Corbis via Getty
Her Broadway credits also include the 2011 comedy Seminar, in which she starred alongside Alan Rickman. Beyond Broadway, she has tackled Shakespeare in the Park productions of As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing and Cymbeline, among other theatrical works.
More recently, Rabe earned acclaim for her performance as Helena Alving in a 2025 Off-Broadway revival of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts, demonstrating that her passion for the stage has remained a constant throughout her career.
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Of course, Rabe has built an equally impressive résumé on screen. She is perhaps best known for her numerous roles in Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story anthology, including her memorable portrayal of Sister Mary Eunice in American Horror Story: Asylum. Her other television credits include The Undoing, The Underground Railroad, Love & Death and Presumed Innocent.
On film, she’s appeared in Vice, The Tender Bar and Miss Stevens, the latter earning her a Best Actress prize at the 2016 SXSW Film Festival. She also co-directed and starred in the 2024 film Downtown Owl.
Yet despite her success across so many different mediums, Rabe says there’s something uniquely rewarding about returning to the theater.
“Oh, gosh. I love that you are never done with the process, that you just get to keep exploring the material until the day you close and that you get to experience it every night with your cast and with these incredible people who’ve come to see it,” she told PEOPLE.
“And so it’s new every night and you discover things every night,” she continued. “And I love being in the process. So the fact that you kind of just get to stay in that the whole time is I think the thing I love the most.”
Tickets to Other Desert Cities are now on sale.
Read the original article on People
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