The frisson that comes from a glamorous film star taking the stage may be initially electrifying, but the spark that ignites a theater from watching a superbly cast ensemble of actors -- with nary a marquee name among them -- is altogether more satisfying. That experience is occurring nightly at the Biltmore Theatre, courtesy of the Manhattan Theatre Club and the McCarter Theatre's exquisite co-production of Brian Friel's poetic 1980 drama Translations, under the sturdy stewardship of Tony Award winner Garry Hynes.

From the moment the motley citizens of the small Irish town of Ballybeg assemble in the local hedge school -- a vast dirt-covered barn sublimely rendered by set designer Francis[...]