THEATER > "Festen" admirable but ultimately unaffecting

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Thomas Vinterberg's 1998 film "Festen" (released as "The Celebration" in the States) was a stark, powerful depiction of a Danish family in the throes of an intense emotional crisis. It followed the rules of Dogme 95, a style that banned camera trickery, artificial lighting, background music and other such devices.

It's paradoxical, then, that David Eldridge's theatrical adaptation, now on Broadway after incarnations at London's Almeida Theater and on the West End, should prove so opposite in its approach. This simple story of family dysfunction has here been tricked up with fancy lighting, creepy sound effects and atmospheric musical cues, placing more emphasis on theatrical stylization than substance.

It's too bad, because there is much to admire about the production. The story, about a lavish dinner party celebrating the 60th birthday of the family patriarch that is interrupted by a shocking accusation by one of his sons, remains a powerful one. And Rufus Norris' staging, as gimmicky as it is, often displays a striking theatrical imagination.

A truly interesting and eclectic cast has been gathered for the production, including television stars ( Julianna Margulies, Jeremy Sisto), Broadway theater veterans ( Larry Bryggman, Michael Hayden) and one bona fide screen legend who has never before acted onstage ( Ali MacGraw).

Unfortunately, the actors don't quite jell into a seamless ensemble, with the result that we never quite get the necessary claustrophobic feeling of being trapped in one room with the bickering members of an extended family. Despite fine work by several of the performers, there are problematic aspects to the casting, from Sisto's black-sheep brother feeling too similar to his role on "Six Feet Under" to MacGraw's stiffness and lack of stage presence as the stoically regal wife.

Although Joan Wadge's costumes are suitably formal, Ian MacNeil's stark set design fails to convey the stuffy opulence of the setting, so in contrast with the ugliness of behavior by nearly every character.

Ultimately, there's a fussiness to the staging that is at odds with the extremity of the emotions on display. Rather than being the lacerating experience it intends to be, this production seems more interested in showing off its bravura technique.