When she uncharacteristically auditions for a local musical production on a whim, Mona (Julianne Moore), a meek, middle-aged housewife with zero stage experience, is taken under the wing of Jerry (Paul Giamatti), the “biggest name in New Jersey community theatre.” As he works to shake her out of her self-conscious shell, questions arise about where vision ends — and sadism begins. Meanwhile, as Mona comes to fully inhabit her character, she grows increasingly untethered from reality.
In turns emotionally honest and utterly outlandish, the latest directorial effort from Jesse Eisenberg (who also supplied the tunes for the musical-within-the-movie) manages to both send up the self-importance that flourishes at the lower rungs of the theatre world, while genuinely celebrating the self-actualization that can occur under the spotlight’s glow. One of the year’s most biting satires, The Debut nevertheless boasts endless affection for its cast of misfits.
Jesse Eisenberg
Julianne Moore, Paul Giamatti, Halle Bailey, Jesse Eisenberg, Cara Buono, Craig Bierko
USA
2026
English
Book Tickets
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Credits
Executive Producer
Michael Bloom, Ian Stratford, Ryan Heller, Jasmine Daghighian, Jennifer Booth, Kevin Kelly
Producer
Emma Stone, Dave McCary, Ali Herting, Jesse Eisenberg
Screenwriter
Jesse Eisenberg
Cinematography
Drew Daniels
Editor
Robert Nassau
Production Design
Anne Ross
Original Music
Emile Mosseri
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