Director Ivo van Hove's most recent outings in New York, notably The Misanthrope and Hedda Gabler, have been volcanic explorations of how individuals reconcile themselves and their self-perceptions with the expectations of society and the people around them. His latest production, Opening Night, being presented in Dutch with English subtitles at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, is a terrific conclusion to a triptych of productions exploring how flawed and insecure people navigate their worlds.

As in its source material -- John Cassavetes' 1977 film of the same name -- the play focuses on a theater company's preparations for the opening of a play called The Second Wife, about a woman who has [...]