He joins Larry Bryggman, Michael Hayden, Ali MacGraw and Julianna Margulies. Sisto, who will play Michael, brother to Hayden's Christian, has acted in Dead End and Take Me Out in L.A. and Wonder of the World Off-Broadway. He was troubled Billy on TV's "Six Feet Under."
The show will play the Music Box, beginning March 23, opening April 9.
A London hit, Festen is an adaptation of the 1998 movie directed and written by Thomas Vinterberg and is part of the Dogme film movement. It’s co-produced by Marla Rubin, who has said that she wants this to be the first in a series of Dogme stage adaptations.
Bill Kenwright and Marla Rubin will produce the Broadway production.
The show depicts a Danish patriarch, Helge Klingenfelt, who is celebrating his 60th birthday with his family at a beautiful old hotel. With him are his wife Else, daughter Helene, and sons Christian and Michael. All are ready for a regular celebration, until Christian opens the lid on a family secret, and the evening spirals into a night of humor and terror (often both at the same time). Margulies will play the daughter. Bryggman and MacGraw are the parents. Also in the cast are Diane Davis, Keith Davis, David Patrick Kelly, Stephen Kunken, Carrie Preston and C.J. Wilson. Casting is ongoing.
Festen will feature set design by Ian MacNeil, costume design by Joan Wadge, lighting by Jean Kalman, original music by Orlando Gough and sound design by Paul Arditti.
The stage adaptation is by David Eldridge, whose play Under the Blue Sky won the Time Out Live Award 2001 for Best New Play. His other plays include Serving It Up, A Week with Tony, Summer Being and Falling. Young Vic associate Rufus Norris directs, with set designs by Ian MacNeil. Sound is by Paul Arditti and music by Orlando Gough.
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The "Dogme '95" film movement was formed in 1995 in Denmark among a handful of directors. The filmmakers who follow its dicta—filming on location; the use of only hand-held, 35 mm cameras; the exemption of artificial lighting and sound effects; a here-and-now time frame—include Lars von Triers and Thomas Vinterberg. Vinterberg's 1998 "Festen" (also known as "Celebration"), upon which the play is based, is probably the most famous "Dogme" film.
