A Master Builder

The artistic triumvirate of Jonathan Demme, André Gregory, and Wallace Shawn update Henrik Ibsen's The Master Builder, a modern classic about a successful, egomaniacal architect who has spent a lifetime bullying his wife, employees and mistresses - who nonetheless wants to make peace with himself as his life approaches its final act. Working from his own translation of the Norwegian text, Wallace Shawn gives a tour-de-force performance as the cruel, yet guilt-ridden architect. Jonathan Demme's direction is based on the near-legendary production created for the stage by André Gregory, developed over a 14-year period. Lisa Joyce plays a sensual, mysterious young visitor who turns the household upside down, much to the consternation of Julie Hagerty, perfectly cast as Shawn's neurasthenic, long-suffering wife. Scandinavian angst -- reinterpreted by New York's finest.