"We had to rush to our first preview and then I guess we got some press just after one show, which I don't really understand," the 47-year-old actor says.

Messages posted on various theater websites said a prompter in the front row was needed to assist Broderick with his lines during the October 26 performance of the three-hour play.

Broderick adds: "It's going very well now, I think, now that we've had a whole week. And it's going to be really good by the time it opens."

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The Starry Messenger tells the story of an astronomy teacher's affair with a younger woman.

It will open on November 23, a week later than originally planned.

For now, Broderick, who has appeared on stage in such hits as Brighton Beach Memoirs and The Producers, has something else on which to focus - a new movie.

During a cocktail reception to promote Wonderful World on November 1 at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, Broderick said the film was an opportunity to work with another friend - screenwriter and first-time director Joshua Godlin.

"I just thought it was a beautifully written script ... The director is my close friend, so I was very happy to get to work with him," Broderick said.

"We've been friends for 20 years," Godlin, also screenwriter for action film Darkman, said. "I don't write with an actor in mind, but knowing Matthew as I do, I always thought he'd be great in the role."

In Wonderful World, a dark comedy, Broderick portrays a former children's folk singer and father who has fallen on hard times - until he meets his roommate's flamboyant sister, played by Tony Award- nominated actress Sanaa Lathan. ASSOCIATED PRESS