'Holiday’ review: Goodman Theatre makes vintage wit feel modern

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By Lauren Emily Whalen

What if Succession were an old-school romcom? Set in an Upper East Side manse that brings new meaning to “ludicrously capacious,” Goodman Theatre’s Holiday pits siblings, parents, and new love interests against one another—but the snappy comebacks and power struggles have an air of genuine love behind them. Mostly.

Directed by former Artistic Director Robert Falls (fresh off Steppenwolf’s Amadeus) and adapted by Richard Greenberg (Take Me Out), Holiday modernizes Philip Barry’s 1928 play (and hit film adaptation starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant).

(l-r) Molly Griggs, Wesley Taylor, Bryce Gangel, Luigi Sottile, and Jordan Lage in "Holiday." — (l-r) Molly Griggs, Wesley Taylor, Bryce Gangel, Luigi Sottile, and Jordan Lage in “Holiday.” Photo by Todd Rosenberg.

Workaholic Julia (Molly Griggs, John Proctor is the Villain) has brought home her fiancé Johnny (Luigi Sottile) after a whirlwind romance, where she reveals she’s one of the filthy-rich Seton clan. Her family includes her rebellious Brooklynite sister Linda (Bryce Gangel), her witty ne’er-do-well brother (Wesley Taylor), and her judgmental father (Jordan Lage).

Unlike the Setons, Johnny grew up in poverty before rising through the ranks at a white-collar law firm. Despite his success, he only wants to earn enough money to figure out his passion in life. Can their love survive these vastly different outlooks?

Chicago winter dance: Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Joffrey Ballet, Red Clay Dance Company. — (l-r) Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Joffrey Ballet, Red Clay Dance Company.

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Bryce Gangel and Wesley Taylor in "Holiday." — Bryce Gangel and Wesley Taylor in “Holiday.” Photo by Todd Rosenberg.

Holiday’s first act is an absolute treat: a confection of repartee among interesting characters whose inner pain threatens to surface with every glittering syllable. (Linda’s warning to Johnny about her father: “FYI, Johnny: By now he knows your social security number, what your Christmas bonus was in 2016, and your history of STDs.”)

Act II, set in the beloved attic room of the late Seton matriarch on New Year’s Eve, ups the stakes (Julia and Johnny’s engagement is minutes from being publicly announced) and reveals family members’ reactions to the loss of their mother, who struggled with depression amid an unhappy marriage. Sadly, Act III falls flat—an all-too-brief letdown that reduces the previously rich characterizations to caricature and slaps on a hasty resolution.

Holiday’s first-rate ensemble—especially Gangel’s cocktail of sass and vulnerability and Taylor’s slurring sarcasm—as well as Walt Spangler’s sumptuous scenic design, can’t quite elevate the script, which needs another pass to infuse modernity into the almost century-old original. Simply put, this Holiday starts with champagne but loses its effervescence.

4 out of 5 stars