By Harry Haun
12 Apr 2006

Eldridge seconded that motion. “It’s just different with any bunch of actors,” he said. “At the moment, we’ve got this production of Festen with the fourth cast in the U.K. on national tour. It’s different. It’s the same, and it’s different. I think American actors are very open and expressive and emotionally free, and those qualities bring wonderful opportunities. English actors are often buttoned-up and have to be nudged into a direction.”

Yes, there was a certain Americanization of the text—any British expression that would bring audiences here up short was changed. Otherwise, the play “is about the bed and the table, really.”

One of the members of the aforementioned ensemble, David Patrick Kelly plays Bryggman’s cranky older brother whose depression darkens during this long day’s journey into nightmare. “This has been one of my favorite theatre experiences because of that ensemble thing, so I was researching old Preston Sturges-John Ford films to see what is an ensemble anyway. It’s just about all those individual characters up there on stage.”

Stephen Kunken is the waiter who stands off to the side and fuels the party with vino and quietly rules the proceedings with a velvet glove. Significant clue: his name is Lars, just perhaps a deep bow to von Trier—a little inside joke for the Dogme campfollowers.

Kunken from Proof had his last tour of stage duty in Washington D.C., playing Doc in the Kennedy Center revival of Mister Roberts . The actor in that title role, Michael Dempsty , is currently across the street covering for Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper in Three Days of Rain (a.k.a. Julia Roberts ’ “Twelve Weeks of Reign”); the Ensign Pulver aboard their S.S. Reluctant is now Leo Bloom a block over in The Producers : Hunter Foster .

Margulies’ Close friend, Glenn , led the glitter brigade on opening night, followed by Carrie Preston ’s hubby, “Lost”’s Michael Emerson (having a happy hiatus at his wife’s first night). Rachel York was there in support of her Dessa Rose co-star, Hayden, and it wasn’t a tough commute: She works next door at the Imperial in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and will until June 18 (when Sherie Rene Scott , who opens Sunday at Signature Theatre Company in Landscape of the Body , resumes her original role). York will take it over in December—but first she’s treating her parents to a 50th anniversary vacation in Greece.

Hank Azaria “wound down” at Festen after giving his final performance in Spamalot . Others in attendance: Tony winner Jennifer Ehle , Lady Macbeth-to-be (this summer in the park opposite Liev Schreiber ); Barefoot in the Park ’s Jill Clayburgh and daughter Lily Rabe (who has two more weeks of filming “that untitled Scott Hicks project” once known as “Mostly Martha”); Anthony Edwards (a bit startled by a grubby autograph-seeker who said, “I was in `Revenge of the Nerds,' too”—or was it `II'?); Edie Falco , who’s beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel—“only it’s not very light. I do so love working on ‘The Sopranos,’ so I’m sad about that”); Claudia Shear and Kathryn Erbe .

“I love your work.” “I love your work.” Edward Hibbert and director Scott Ellis shouted at each other across the lobby of the Music Box at intermission. They’d better. They’ll work on Curtains together when it goes into rehearsal in June, even though Hibbert will be butlerling eight performances a week for The Drowsy Chaperone (“hardest working man in show business,” sighed Hibbert, improbably appropriating the James Brown title). The next day Ellis had his final Curtains casting call to see who’ll join David Hyde Pierce (also late of Spamalot ), Karen Ziemba and Show People ’s Debra Monk .

Curtains will be Ellis’ third show in a row. His first of the season, The Little Dog Laughed at the Second Stage, will be coming back next season for a Broadway run, thus giving the fabulous Julie White her much-deserved, long-overdue shot at the Tony.

“She’d have gotten it this time. We just couldn’t get a house, but we’ll get a house in October. I’m hoping it’ll be the Helen Hayes. It might be another theatre. I just happen to love the Helen Hayes. I think it’s right for this, but wherever it needs to go, it will go.”

David Grimm , who had a happy run at The Public with his hilarious Measure for Pleasure , is bound for Sundance with his new play, Steve and Idi (that’s right: as in Idi Amin). “It’s about loss, forgiveness, mourning,” he said, adding brightly “It’s a comedy.”

Cerveris will be following his Sweeney Todd with Kurt Weill. He’ll be playing the composer in Arthur Uhry ’s LoveMusik . The question is when: “The scheduling has been changed three or four times during the last few weeks. The latest is after the start of next year.” And his current, if not constant, co-star, Patti LuPone , won’t be Lotte Lenya. The closest she’ll come is doing Weill’s opera, Mahagonny —to Audra McDonald ’s Jenny—with the Los Angeles Opera for seven performances, starting Feb. 10, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. But first she goes it alone in Gypsy at Ravinia Aug 11-13. It’s Cerveris’s first Ravinia-free summer in years. “The withdrawal will be terrible,” he feared.

Casting director Jack Doulin said he’s one role away from completing the cast of columbinas . Keith Nobbs , eternal teen, will head a cast of eight (Carmen Herlihy, Nicole Lawrence , among them) starting rehearsals Tuesday at New York Theatre Workshop.

Newscaster Robert MacNeil was present on opening night to see the design work of his son, Ian MacNeil , and so was MacNeil’s longtime collaborator, director Stephen Daldry , who’ve teamed on everything from An Inspector Calls to Billy Elliot .

The plan to bring Billy to Canada before New York is off, said Daldry. “We thought we might go to Canada first, but we’re not now. I think I might bring it in in 2008. I want to do a little movie first.” When Daldry does “a little movie,” it’s famous and he’s Oscar-nominated (“The Hours” and the “Billy Elliot” flick that inspired Elton John to musicalize it for the stage).