[NEohioPAL] Review of THE BLACK CAT

[John Ballantyne]

By Tracey D’Astolfo
YOUNGSTOWN — Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat” is a brief tale, roughly the length of a magazine article.
It’s typical Poe in that it involves a man who descends into madness
and murder, and becomes undone in macabre fashion. But it’s not among
Poe’s most powerful works.
The story hints at the witchlike power of a cat. The demise of the man who crosses its path is hastened by alcohol abuse.
Local theater veteran J.E. Ballantyne Jr. has taken the framework of
this short story and fleshed it out into a two-hour (with intermission)
play. Ballantyne wrote the stage adaptation and also directs “The Black
Cat,” which opened Friday before a full house at Victorian Players
Theatre.
Ballantyne has adapted Poe stories before for the annual Halloween
offerings at the Vic, including “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Fall of
the House of Usher.” But “The Black Cat” is easily the sparsest tale
he’s tackled. Consequently, he has had to create a lot of backstory,
adding a major plot twist involving the sins of the father.
In Ballantyne’s version, the mystery of the cat is shifted into a
broader curse brought on by animals that had been slaughtered. It’s a
little bit farfetched, but the play’s meandering pace keeps the horror
of Poe’s story intact. But it also leaves little room for the viewer’s
imagination to fill in the blanks. That’s something Poe relied on.
In the Vic’s production, a young couple, Franklin and Marguerite,
played by Tom Smith and Laura J. Phillips, move into an old house
they’ve inherited.
It sits on the outskirts of a village in 1800s Maryland and is
reviled by the townsfolk, who believe its previous owner committed a
heinous crime against the village’s animals.
After they get settled in and fill their house with pets, Franklin’s jovialness soon changes to agitation.
The curses of the past speak to him. He turns to the bottle and is
soon lashing out at his wife and Reginald, his servant, a grotesque man
who keeps his face covered by a hood.
The plot follows quite a few twists and turns before arriving at the
conclusion that Poe originally described. Along the way are a few
horrifying scenes — some courtesy of Poe, some of Ballantyne and
company.
You couldn’t ask for a better pair of leads than Smith and Phillips.
Smith is superb as Franklin in all his phases. He starts as a hearty
and well-to-do newlywed, then darkens into a madman. Under the
influence of brandy, he bellows and rages as the play careens toward
its shocking ending.
Phillips cuts a fine Victorian woman, who can only suffer as her husband becomes ever more touched and violent.
C Richard Haldi is Reginald, the dark and tortured man-servant. He
also breaks into narrator mode as needed, sometimes right after
speaking in his character, which can be confusing.
Sam Luptak is the morbid official who turns over the accursed house
to Franklin while trying to warn him of its history. Caty Sacui
provides comic relief in a brief role as a saucy barmaid.
“The Black Cat” will run through Halloween at the cozy Victorian.
After that, it will go on the road in a unique arrangement that will
see it travel to Columbiana’s Main Street Theater for three
performances.
X“The Black Cat” will be presented at Victorian Players Theatre, 702
Mahoning Ave., Youngstown, at 2 p.m. today and Oct. 25 and Nov. 1; and
at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Oct. 30 and 31; and at midnight
Saturday and Oct. 31. Call (330) 746-5455. It also will be presented at
Main Street Theater, 5 N. Main St., Columbiana, at 8 p.m. Nov. 6 and 7
and 2 p.m. Nov. 8. Call (330) 482-9647.


      
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