In 1922, she had her first starring role, in the play Rain by John Colton and Clemence Randolph, based on a short story by W. Somerset Maugham. In this, her favorite role,[citation needed] Eagels played Sadie Thompson, a free-wheeling and promiscuous spirit who confronts a fire-and-brimstone preacher on a South Pacific island. She went on tour with Rain for two more seasons and returned to Broadway to give a farewell performance in 1926.