Broadway

Indiscretions

Les Parents Terribles (Ethel Barrymore Theater; 1,085 seats; $60 top.)

By JEREMY GERARD

When sean Mathias' giddily extravagant production opened in April, it was clear that the three British cast members -- Roger Rees, Jude Law and, especially, Eileen Atkins -- were the glue holding this libidinous family funhouse ride together.

Despite considerable acclaim, even for the show's putative star, Kathleen Turner, "Indiscretions" was blanked at the Tony Awards and has had a rough ride since.

The grosses continue to suggest that Turner is the draw, though at a recent performance she was even more mannered and unintelligile than she was four months ago. Moreover, Atkins has withdrawn, at least temporarily, due to health factors, and the ship is not in good shape. Sandra Shipley, Atkins' standby, is offering a very coarse imitation of the real thing, while Rees is now so wildly over the top that, like Turner, he defies a viewer's sympathy.

Law and Cynthia Nixon remain on the beam. He's the callow young man torn between his overpowering mother (Turner) and a pretty bookbinder (Nixon). She falls in love with him while trying to end an affair with the older man she discovers too late is his father (Rees). Nixon was never quite right for the role; at the same time, she is never less than true to it, while Law continues to infuse the boy with puppyish, but no too-puppyish, charm.

Nevertheless, this is a show desparately in need of a directorial tuneup, though even with one, Atkins' absence leaves a major gap in the proceedings.