New Delhi, Oct. 19 -- NEW YORK - Julia Louis-Dreyfus has arrived on Broadway with the kind of notices that can sell a star's performance without settling the case for the show around her. Her debut in Other Desert Cities has drawn enthusiastic praise and pointed reservations, sometimes within the same review.

how the actors fare, and what the play delivers now.

USA Today's review called Louis-Dreyfus "dynamite" while describing the revival as rudderless. That distinction matters to readers encountering the celebratory review roundup carried by Yahoo. Admiration for one performer is not necessarily an endorsement of the production's pacing, emotional weight or overall effect.

The Hollywood Reporter's assessment was considerably less wel...