Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2006
Festen
You just can't figure Broadway when it comes to the Brits. While the sentimental History Boys won almost unanimous cheers (and lots of Tony's) and Brian Friel's soporific The Faith Healer had the critics reaching for superlatives, this riveting family drama — a big success in London — left critics and audiences here cold. David Eldridge's play, based on the Danish film The Celebration, about a family reunion torn asunder by a son's revelation of sexual abuse, was as bleak as a Scandinavian winter, and just as bracing.