George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber’s “The Royal Family” opens tomorrow night at the Manhattan Theatre Club, and it should be a great success. Based on the Barrymore family (pre-Drew), this extravagent interpretation of the stage family may seem hyperbolic, but is probably closer to reality than originally meets the eye. I got to see a sneak preview on Saturday night and was thrilled to see a straight Broadway play that commented not only on the ego, lure and magic that is theatre . . . but also on the loneliness and isolation of a career that literally puts you on a different plane of existence and time than anyone else.

Rosemary Harris plays the matriarch of the family – Fanny Cavendish – although she played the younger Julie Cavendish in the last Broadway production in 1975. Now that role belongs to Jan Maxwell. Reg Rogers is hilarious as the swash-buckling, disguise-wearing movie star brother Tony. You might recognize him from “Friends” and “Analyze That,” among others. The rest of the cast comprises some big names such as Ana Gasteyer, who falls short of her high school music teacher SNL days opposite Will Ferrell.

Although the actors normally hit their marks, the occasional swallowed joke was noticeable, particularly from Gasteyer. Tony Roberts as Oscar Wolfe also seemed particularly out of it, but apparently he unfortunately was. According to yesterday’s New York Times, the actor has fallen ill:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/theater/06roberts.html?scp=1&sq=oscar%20wolfe&st=cse

Here’s wishing him a speedy recovery and a big ol’ “break a leg” to the rest of the cast tomorrow night.

Reg Rogers shows off his sword-fighting in Kaufman's "The Royal Family."

May the back stage histrionics be significantly mellower than those on stage.