The holidays aren't over yet at the Hayes Theatre. Playwright Leslye Headland makes her Broadway debut with Cult of Love, directed by Trip Cullman and presented by Second Stage Theatre.
What's it all about? It’s the holiday season for the Dahl family! The four adult children return to their childhood home with partners in tow. The Dahl traditions include singing carols in harmony at the drop of a hat, but the gathering is anything but harmonious.
Old conflicts resurface, new issues battled, and dinner is taking absolutely forever to be served. Will the love the Dahls have for each other be enough to get them through, or will this be their last Christmas together?
Before Broadway, the family dramedy premiered at the IAMA Theatre in Los Angeles as part of their 10th Anniversary season in 2018. It went on to play at the Williamstown Theatre Festival as an audio production, which was presented by Audible. A later version was presented by Berkeley Repertory Theatre is 2024, directed by Cullman.
The star-studded Broadway cast includes: Shailene Woodley, Zachary Quinto, Barbie Ferreira, Christopher Lowell, Mare Winninham, David Rasche, Molly Bernard, Roberta Colindrez, Rebecca Henderson and Christopher Sears.
While the psychology beneath the story may not be entirely sound, Trip Cullman, the director, effectively illuminates the poignant and ironic qualities that appear throughout Headland’s text. These beautifully sung carols, festive traditions and longstanding jokes (for instance, the lamb roasting in the oven always is pronounced by the Dahls as “lam-buh”) observed since childhood contrast against the grown-up siblings’ personal miseries today. Expect no satisfying resolution for these people, who for the most part remain stuck in the deep grooves of their upbringing.
There is no such clear resolution in “Cult of Love,” and no unambiguous message, although Mark gets a near-sermon towards the end that spells out a possible point to the play. If anything, despite the Christmas carols sung from beginning to end, the playwright seems intent on subverting the formula of the Christmas story. But she replaces it with another formula, that of the dysfunctional family drama. This genre at its best can generate shattering moments and fresh insights, and I kept on expecting “Cult of Love” to deliver them. This is thanks to the one undeniable strength of the production: the fine ensemble acting of the cast, six of whose ten members are making their Broadway debuts.
2024 | Broadway |
Second Stage Theatre Broadway Production Broadway |
Videos