THE DEBUT

Hoping to escape her quiet, invisible life as a New Jersey homemaker, Mona Friedman (a spectacular Julianne Moore) tries out for the local community theater musical called “Nosy Neighbors.” Cast by default in a bit part when the original actress drops out, the shy, unassuming Mona transforms into a zealous method actor willing to do anything to protect the artistic integrity of her marginal role, even if it means waging war against the show's domineering director, Jerry (played to perfection by Paul Giamatti). Bernadette Peters, Halle Bailey, and a host of Broadway stars round out the ensemble, with Eisenberg himself as a tenant with a backed-up toilet. In one of her most fearless performances, Oscar-winning actor Moore takes Mona from a woman afraid to take up any space at all to an electrifying diva on a radical search for the truth. Written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain) and featuring a wonderful set of original songs by Eisenberg, The Debut is a funny, stirring, darkly surreal portrait of a woman discovering the powerful artist within.