Julianna Margulies Eyes Role in Festen on the Great White Way

It looks like Julianna Margulies will be one of the stars of the Broadway production of Festen, which is aiming for a spring Broadway berth. The actress told syndicated Liz Smith that she was very close to signing on for the play, according to Smith's January 18 column.

Margulies is probably best known for her Emmy Award-winning portrayal of Nurse Carol Hathaway on the hit drama ER. During her six seasons on the show, she was nominated for four Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Emmys and two Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Emmys, winning one in the latter category. Margulies won a 2001 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actress for her performance in the Lincoln Center production of Ten Unknowns. She has also been seen off-Broadway in The Vagina Monologues she also appeared in the Los Angeles production of that show and Intrigue with Faye. Her other stage credits include Fefu and her Friends, The Substance of Fire, Living Expenses, Book of Names, Balm in Gilead and In the Boom Boom Room. Her film credits include A Price Above Rubies, Evelyn and Ghost Ship. She was nominated for a 2004 Golden Globe Award for her performance in the television miniseries The Grid, which had six installments on TNT.

David Eldridge's English language stage version of Festen, an adaptation of the original Danish Dogme film and play, is coming to Broadway after successful engagements at the Almeida Theatre and in the West End. The show centers on Helge Klingenfeltand, who is celebrating his 60th birthday with his family at a magnificent old house in the Danish countryside. Gathered together are his loyal wife Else, his daughter Helene, and sons Christian and Michael. As the evening progresses Christian feels compelled to break the silence surrounding a dark family secret.

Rufus Norris is directing the piece, which is expected to land at the Music Box Theatre this March.