[NEohioPAL] Review of "Bell, Book and Candle" at Cleveland Play House

[Bob Abelman]

CPH's 'Bell, Book and Candle' is more tepid than bewitching

 

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review will appear in the News-Herald on 1/25/13

 

Playwright John van Druten's first work, "Young Woodley," was banned in London in 1925 for its subversive attitude toward authority.  His 1940s hit "The Voice of the Turtle" challenged the rigid social and sexual mores of the time and shocked audiences.

 

So it is easy to assume that the Cleveland Play House's "Bell, Book and Candle"-written by van Druten in 1950, taking place in 1950, and featuring a beautiful young witch named Gillian Holroyd, her spell casting Aunt Queenie, and her mischievous warlock brother Nicky-is more than what it seems.

 

Since van Druten was writing at a time when "witch hunts" referred to the Senate House Un-American Activities Committee's' quest for communists-which the play casually references-it is tempting to make the connection.  

 

Since the playwright was a closeted homosexual, it is possible that the focus of this play-a love affair between Gillian, a member of a clandestine subculture, and her upstairs neighbor Shepherd, a member of the dominant human culture-has deeper implications.  In fact, a subtle reference to the then-released Kinsey Report about male sexuality works its way into the play.

 

Tempting and possible, perhaps, but neither subtexts are pursued in this CPH production.  This production of "Bell, Book and Candle" plays it straight with no chaser.  

 

So straight, in fact, that the play is revealed for what it truly is:  a plodding, predictable comedy void of drama, short on humor, and without much magic or momentum in the dialogue.  Grounded in 1950s sensibilities, "Bell, Book and Candle" is a far cry from the zany behavior, improbable events and fast-talking women of the screwball comedies of the 1940s, replacing them with the casual sophistication and tepid temperament of the Eisenhower era.  

 

That's not to say that this production of it is not without some degree of charm.

  

Director Michael Bloom and his creative team embrace all that is period in this piece.  As if taking cues from 1950s cinema, the production's pacing is purposefully nonchalant, its lighting serves to accentuate mood rather than simply reveal it-such as when the lovers are encircled in spotlight when in full embrace, which slowly collapses on itself to suggest the more private moment to come-and the magic effects are so low-tech they are quaint.     

 

Gillian's cosmopolitan apartment, which is the only set in the play, is decorated with mod furniture, throw pillows and assorted chic art that doubles as witchcraft artifacts.  From her Murray Hill district apartment, designed by Russell Parkman, a romantic view of the New York City skyscape and the visible second floor flat of Gillian's love interest can be seen. 

 

Georgia Cohen, as Gillian, is right out of central casting and her sex-kitten costuming by David Kay Mickelsen could have been pulled from Columbia Pictures' wardrobe department.  Her long gazes, slinky steps and sultry breathing call to mind actress Kim Novak from the 1958 film version of this play, but remain distinctive and interesting on their own.

 

She is surrounded by delightfully quirky characters played by superb character actors.  Patricia Kilgarriff is wonderful as the eccentric Aunt Queenie, an older but significantly less accomplished witch.  As Gillian's brother Nicky, the impish Jeremy Webb seems primed to misbehave at a moment's notice, but the play never gives him that opportunity.  Fortunately, Marc Moritz as Sidney Redlitch, an oddball author of a tell-all book about witchcraft, is given free rein, which Moritz uses to his full advantage and our enjoyment.

 

As the romantic lead, Eric Martin Brown does a fine job transitioning from sober to bewitched to sober again, as Gillian's magic plays havoc with his character's emotions.  During all this, he is given the least interesting dialogue and does what he can with it.

 

Oddly, the most enjoyable moments of the evening take place during the set adjustments between scenes.  Set to music, bizarre dancing by voodoo mask-wearing cast and crew takes place to serve as a distraction.  Funny beyond description and, perhaps, an homage to Ernie Kovacs-a 1950s TV sketch comedy pioneer and surrealist who also played Redlitch in the film version of the play-these segues, choreographed by Amy Compton, are woefully out of sync with what occurs on stage before and after them.   They call attention to all that the play is not but could be. 

 

Come curtain call, the audience is entertained but not satisfactorily.  The Cleveland Play House's previous productions have created a high bar for the season that "Bell, Book and Candle" limbos under rather than hurdles.

 

"Bell, Book and Candle" continues through February 3 in Cleveland Play House's Allen Theatre at PlayhouseSquare.  For tickets, which range from $15 to $69, call 216-241-6000 or visit www.clevelandplayhouse.com.   
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