Everywhere You Go, There You Aren't

There's a saying, everywhere you go there you are.

Well, not necessarily.

Consider Otis Bigelow's "The Prevalence of Mrs. Seal" now at the Spotlighters Theater in downtown Baltimore. Webster's Student Dictionary defines "prevalence" as "to a wide extent...frequently occurring." Answers.com notes the medical definition, "the total number of cases of a disease in a general population at a specific time."

In the case of this play, the time is the 1930s, and the population is a rather odd assortment that reminded me a bit of the characters from the board game, "Clue."

Originally set in the 1970s, director Michael Spellman "backdated" the play to a more romantic era, "the golden age of 'gothic' movies exemplified by James Whale and his marvelous Frankenstein," Spellman says in the program's Director's Notes.

It's fitting for this comedy which opens in the sitting room of the vast Bruce Wayne-ish manor of the elderly Mrs. Theodora Seal (SuzanNe Young), a one-woman empire and the living embodiment of "the Seal Trust," a reservoir of billions of dollars in search of something to do.

Of course, the problem with being an old lady with billions of dollars is, you can't take it with you. Which, for Mrs. Seal, means only one thing.

She isn't going.

The first act of the play is essentially a very odd job interview. There are three candidates who believe they possess the power to add considerable lengths to Mrs. Seal's mortal coil and each makes an entertaining and evocative pitch, given the prize...a check for one billion dollars, kept safe in a locked briefcase, handcuffed to the wrist of Harry (Alan M. Berlett), a young, exuberant chap, but with limited prospects.

He works for a very dull and pompous finance house under the employ of the very dull and pompous Mr. Murdstone, played with proper nose-in-the-air bombast by Spotlighters' favorite, Frank Vince. Think Mr. Thatcher from "Citizen Kane," you get the idea.

The Spotlighters chose Halloween weekend to open "Prevalence," and one sees why as we first meet the butler, Bill Young's aptly named "Graves," complete with candelabra in hand, lighting the way as he shuffles on to the stage. Later we meet Mr. Smith (Daniel Douek), Dr. Porteous (Shawn Anthony) and Mrs. Pilgrim (Jessica Feldman), our three job candidates. The name "Smith" is as about as effective in concealing the true identity of Douek's character--black cape, slicked back hair, gaudy Carpathian medallion, a pasty complexion and an affinity for blood sausage hors d'oeurvres--as a fake rubber moustache. Douek happily inhabits his character, right down to the Legosi-esque accent. It's a trait his fellow actors share, each relishing their parts like kids enjoying their Halloween treats. Jessica Feldman's Mrs. Pilgrim is a New Age-y medium in personal touch with God as well as her own libido, perhaps symbolized by her cascading red hair. Think Madeline Kahn circa the old Carol Burnette Show, you're on the right track.

Then, there's Anthony's Porteus who first appears in full mad-scientist regalia, i.e. white lab coat, oversized goggles and a hairdo courtesy of a finger-in-the-electric-socket. Porteus is solicitious, questioning, socially inept, and somehow quite charming. His assistant, Igor (Chris Homberg) has almost as little personality as, say, Senator John Kerry, but that's to be expected as Igor's brain--formerly that of Porteus' colleague, Dr.Lucius--isn't in its original body.

And that's where and when things get interesting.

Soon there's lights a-flashing in the laboratory and this comic farce of, if not mistaken, then mislaid identifies is off and running.

SuzanNe Young first appears on stage as the cantankerous Mrs. Seal, but later channels Harry, then Igor, then Dr. Lucius, and does a marvelous job with each transformation, sitting legs spread like a man or hobbling old-lady-style with a cane or doing the stiff-armed-stance-and-trance of a real-life Frankenstein.

Hopping about like a curious child amidst the madness is Elisa Dugan's Belinda, the requisite platinum blonde-beauty, a raft of innocence (though not too innocent as playgoers will find), and not too swift on the uptake. Every creature feature must have its distressed damsel, and Belinda is that, but much more, a woman determined to have a life beyond the gloomy confines of the Seal estate and in the loving arms of Harry...whatever body he may currently be occupying. Everywhere you go, there you aren't.

Like a crack of lightning on a dark and stormy night, this 2+ hour comedy is gone in a flash. Watching "The Prevalence of Mrs. Seal" is like that child's toy you must tilt and turn to get the bb's into the little holes. The bb's fly about, bouncing to and fro, as these characters bounce about, jumping from one body to the next. The bb's may not end up in the holes where they started, but it doesn't matter. All's in place by curtain's fall and you can't ask for much more than that.  

 "The Prevalence of Mrs. Seal" runs at the Spotlighters, 817 St. Paul Street, now through Nov. 15^th, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $18; $15 for seniors, students and Baltimore Theater Alliance members and may be purchased online at www.spotlighters.org. For more information, call 410-752-1225.

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