This shorter play is more lighthearted and extremely funny. The setting is two tables at an expensive and fashionable restaurant, one table occupied by a bank manager and his wife and the other by two married couples celebrating an anniversary. The two brothers are married to the two sisters and they are the nouveau riche of London. They are loud and coarse. During the course of the play, everyone gets drunk, sings libidinous ditties and pounds the table for more bottles of wine.
Celebration is a thin piece but the skill of the actors is a real delight.
The actors are faultlessly and selflessly in harmony with each other. This is an exquisite ensemble work that keeps the audience rolling in the aisles. Peter Riegert gives a consummate performance as one of the brothers, transforming from the mousy landlord in The Room to the self-confident wealthy hoodlum in Celebration . Marco Barricelli also shifts - from the silent husband in the first act to a frolicking and boisterous gangster in the second presentation. It is also amazing to see the change in Diane Venora, from shabby Rose to a rudely confident Prue.