Good morning, and welcome to Broadway News’ Broadway Review by Brittani Samuel — our overview of reactions, recommendations and information tied to last night’s Broadway opening of “Cult of Love.”
RUNDOWN
‘Tis the season for “Cult of Love.” Leslye Headland’s punctual play traces one day as the Dahl siblings — Diana, Evie, Mark and Johnny — repatriate to their family home to join their parents for Christmas, each with a spouse or friend in tow. As adults, these siblings, whose home was governed by Christian tenets, undergo a second puberty of sorts. They’re forced to reckon with all the identity changes and emotional zits that come from stepping out (and then back into) their childhood milieu.
Headland’s knack for the well-trod genre of family drama shines through. Her ability to craft several, trauma-textured characters who immediately feel like real people is still a literary feat, even if the play is nowhere near the first of its kind (or even, its season). Headland wisely trusts her audience enough to forgo extended bouts of performative exposition, instead, dropping us into the muck of these layered interpersonal dynamics. Trip Cullman’s zippy direction brings energy to a static set, conquering the challenge of many bodies in limited zones of action. Without Cullman’s ordered momentum, all the wintry charm of scenic designer John Lee Beatty’s cozy-to-the-point-of-a-coma living-room set could turn soporific.
