Festen Sets Broadway Opening for April 9; Bryggman, Hayden, MacGraw, and Margulies Head Cast

Larry Bryggman, Michael Hayden, Ali MacGraw, and Julianna Margulies will star on Broadway in the Almeida Theatre production of Festen, scheduled to begin performances at the Music Box on Thursday, March 23. Directed by Rufus Norris, the production will open officially on April 9.

The company also includes Diane Davis, Keith Davis, David Patrick Kelly, Stephen Kunken, Carrie Preston, and C.J. Wilson. Casting of one of the principal roles, Michael, and additional ensemble members will be announced shortly. The show 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.

Based on Thomas Vintenberg’s Danish film of the same title, called The Celebration in the U.S., Festen was adapted for the stage by David Eldridge. The setting is the 60th birthday party of a beloved patriarch, where the man’s eldest son feels compelled to break the silence surrounding a family secret.

MacGraw, who will make her Broadway debut in Festen, received an Oscar nomination for her work in Love Story. Her other film credits include Goodbye, Columbus and The Getaway. Margulies has appeared on the New York stage in Ten Unknowns and Intrigue With Faye; she won an Emmy Award for her role of Carol Hathaway on E.R.

Bryggman, a two-time Tony Award nominee for Proof and Picnic, was most recently seen on Broadway in Twelve Angry Men. He received numerous honors for his Off-Broadway performance in Romance and has won two Daytime Emmy Awards for his work on As the World Turns. Hayden received a Tony nomination for his performance in Judgment at Nuremberg and has also starred on Broadway in Henry IV, Enchanted April, Cabaret, and Carousel; he was recently announced as the male lead in the upcoming Paper Mill Playhouse production of Carnival but has withdrawn from that production to join the cast of Festen.