Edie Falco stole the show from funnyman Ben Stiller during the official opening of their Broadway play The House Of Blue Leaves on Monday (25Apr11).
In the Broadway revival, Stiller plays a zookeeper and aspiring songwriter named Artie Shaughnessy who struggles to balance a life with his schizophrenic wife Bananas, played by The Sopranos' Edie Falco, and his mistress Bunny, portrayed by Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Although the Zoolander actor was cast as the star, Falco has won over critics, garnering significant praise for what a New York Times reviewer called a "transfixing" performance in a play that "sinks".
New York Daily News writer Joe Dziemianowicz complimented Stiller for his hidden talents, proclaiming he "plays piano and sings impressively", while Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal insisted Falco is "definitely the star of this show".
Stiller has close personal ties to the show - he played his character's son Ronnie in its 1986 run at New York's Lincoln Center and his mother, Anne Meara, starred as Bunny in the first production of the play back in 1971.
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