Cult of Love (2024) (Broadway)

I had no expectations for Cult of Love, a stressful Christmas eve family drama. I had no idea what it was about. I got this ticket on Culture Pass simply because I saw Shailene Woodley and Zachary Quinto were in it. Little did I know the rest of the cast were also very good and some recognizable: Mare Winningham, David Rasche from Succession, and Barbie Ferreira from Euphoria. And I was very pleasantly surprised at the very engaging play that also features a number of songs, Christmas carols sung by the cast in four-part harmony as well as played on instruments played on stage by the actors (banjo, drums, piano, tambourine, etc.). The cast are not all known for singing but they sing valiantly in harmony. They're a convincing dysfunctional family who learned to sing as kids in church. The plot unfolds slowly and deliberately, secrets withheld until they're released at a time to land most dramatically on the audience. There are themes of mental illness, religiosity, drug addiction, bigotry and family. It deals with heavy themes with some levity.The playwright Leslye Headland has written a cycle of plays about the Seven Deadly Sins; this one is about pride. I don't think it's obvious, not necessarily the most prominent theme. But pride in a religious sense is about putting oneself above God. And I guess they all kind of do that, not least the would-be prophet. But I think in another sense, the four children have a pride represented by a burden they feel to their family; and they each feel like they must be the bigger person to take it upon themselves because the other kids are negligent. It's not exactly pride but it blinds them nonetheless from having relationships with their siblings. And we have to mention the casting of Shailene Woodley, the biggest star in the cast, who has a reputation that precedes her that she kind of leans into by playing this character. She is a would-be cult leader who is mentally ill but presents as an ultra-religious nutjob who is compelled to say awful things to her family. They're stunning zingers that either silence the audience or induce audible gasps. But don't we love to be shocked.