Stir in a high-minded wife (Marin Ireland), a sluttish but good-hearted starlet (Rachel Brosnahan), a school-of-Uriah-Heep agent (Chip Zien) and a thuggish studio fixer (Reg Rogers) and you get .

WSJ: The Sellout | The Big Knife | The Assembled Parties | Theater Reviews by Terry Teachout

Chip Zien warmly enacts Nat Danziger, a sincere, longtime father figure to Charlie and Marion, while Reg Rogers wears a smarmy air as ironically-named Smiley Coy, who executes Hoff's every controlling whim.

WSJ: Review: Fame cuts both ways in 'The Big Knife'