Elling

This holiday season Broadway is serving up two Norwegian fruitcakes in Elling, a nutty confection sure to give you a sugar rush.

The titular character Elling, played with manic verve by Denis O'Hare, is released from a mental institution to live in a small Oslo apartment with 40-year-old virgin Kjell Bjarne, played by Brendan Fraser in his Broadway debut, who gives a somewhat heavy-handed but ultimately winning performance. The agoraphobic Elling becomes strangely attached to his oafish and sex-crazed roommate as he dabbles in writing and finds a mentor in a noted Norwegian poet (Richard Easton), who may or may not be trying to to steal his work. All the while, Kjell Bjarne pursues his pregnant neighbor (Best in Show's quirky cool Jennifer Coolidge) with a feverish abandon. Events, somewhat predictably, get out of control as the loons learn that life outside the nuthouse can be as strange as it is inside.

Elling, originally a novel by Ingvar Ambjornsen, was adapted by the British playwright Simon Bent. Though the audience can't help but feel that some of the humor has been lost in translation, Elling powers through on the strength of its pitch-perfect performances.

Comments

There are no comments.

To comment on this article login or register.

More Reviews

Priscilla Queen Of The Desert

03/28/2011
That Championship Season

03/07/2011
A Little Night Music

01/10/2011
Shakespeare in the Park: A Merchant of Venice

07/20/2010
Race

03/03/2010
Streetcar Named Desire

01/09/2010

CelebSelect

Danielle Panabaker's Top Pop Picks
- Favorite Band: The Avett Brothers
  
  "I'm really into the Avett Brothers as of late."
- Favorite Book: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
  
  "My girlfriends are I - we are very nerdy. We started a book club and the first book we read was Gone Girl."
- Favorite New Movie: Silver Linings Playbook
  
  "I thought it was a great film and I thought Jennifer Lawrence was incredible, you know those angry tears, I've certainly experienced that."
Paul Van Dyk: Current Favorites
- School of the Seven Bells
  
  The New York-based band unites Benjamin Curtis of "Secret Machines" and Alejandra Deheza. Formed in 2007, the duo is named after a mythical South American pickpocket training academy of the same name.
- Linkin Park
  
  The Californian rock veterans have come a long way since 'Hybrid Theory.' Back now with their fifth studio album in over a decade, 'Living Things' is one of Paul Van Dyck's favorite albums this year.
- Jupiter Jones
  
  The German punk rock band formed in 2002, but has already released several LPs, including an eponymously-named album in 2011.
- Depeche Mode
  
  The legendary Essex electronic band from the 80s remains a classic for Van Dyk. It was also recently among 'Q' magazine's "50 Bands That Changed The World!".
Cody Simpson
- Favorite Movie
  I'm still really into the Ocean's series. I got into them recently. I was always too young to watch them.
- Favorite Book
  This book called Contest by Matthew Reilly, he's an Australian author.
- Favorite Album
  Drake's Take Care — big fan of that
- Favorite TV Show
  The Mentalist
Styx's Lawrence Gowan
- Bossypants by Tina Fey
  
  "That’s got me laughing hysterically on airplanes."
- Making Mirrors by Goyte
  
  "I thought that was a tremendous record."
- The Artist
  
  "It really impressed me."
- Keane
  
  "They’re really strong."
90210's Michael Steger: My Favorite Stuff
- Favorite TV Show: Rome
  
  HBO's series starring Cirian Hinds
- Favorite Album: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
  
  "Either that or The Gypsy Kings."
- Favorite Book: The Fountainhead
  
  "Probably my favorite book of all time."
- Favorite New Movie: Attack The Block
  
  “It reminded me of The Goonies.”