There’s nothing quite like “Elling” on Broadway. Based on the Norwegian book and film of the same name, this Oslo-set play is about a pair of socially impaired men who learn to live on their own after two years in a mental institution.
In case you haven’t guessed, it’s a comedy.
If this wasn’t incongruous enough, the leads are played by Denis O’Hare, a Tony winner for “Take Me Out” and now a vampire king on “True Blood,” and Brendan Fraser, of “Furry Vengeance” and “The Mummy” fame.
While far from perfect, the show works often enough, not in spite of its hodgepodge appearance, but because of it.
Underneath its exotic pedigree, “Elling,” adapted into English by Simon Bent, is a classic mismatched-pair story. Teaming O’Hare and Fraser was a good move — though I suspect their onstage chemistry will improve some more with time.
Elling (O’Hare) is a narrow, neat and tightly wound little martinet. A good head taller, unshaven and pot-bellied, Kjell Bjarne (Fraser) is the epitome of the big, lovable lug.
The two of them were roommates in the “nuthouse,” and their unlikely partnership continues after they get out. Since we’re in a country with a humane health-care system, the Norwegian state provides the men with a no-nonsense social worker, Frank Asli (the ever-reliable Jeremy Shamos), and an apartment — bargain-basement set courtesy of Scott Pask. The idea is to help our misfit boys “return to reality.”
For Kjell Bjarne, a simple-minded 40-year-old virgin with dubious hygiene, the process involves falling in love with pregnant neighbor Reidun (Jennifer Coolidge, the buxom blonde best known for deceptively smart supporting turns in “Legally Blonde” and “Best in Show”). Meanwhile, Elling — an anal-retentive “mommy’s boy” who lived with his mother until well into middle age, when she died — makes a new pal (Richard Easton) and discovers a gift for writing poetry.
Elling and Kjell Barne’s friendship grows stronger, too, despite their radically different personalities and perspectives. “We only live once,” Kjell Bjarne declares with his usual optimism. “I hope so,” Elling shoots back. “The concept of reincarnation has been troubling me.”
Regrettably, the show lacks the joyful warmth of the 2001 film. And after his dismal “Mrs. Warren’s Profession,” director Doug Hughes confirms that he has little flair for comedy, half-wasting some of the best jokes.
Still, the play’s extra-dry, non-sentimental Scandinavian humor saves it from “Rain Man”-meets-“The Odd Couple” cheap quirkiness.
Like its characters, “Elling” doesn’t quite fit in its natural environment, but it has a modest, oddball charm.
elisabeth.vincentelli
@nypost.com