BWW Reviews: THE SPIRITUALIST Boasts An Admirable Cast In An Interesting Play At Stages

British widow Rosemary Brown was a real-life spiritual medium in the 1960's and 70's who claimed she was lead by dead composers to create further music compositions. Whether Rosemary was a fake just seeking the limelight or legitimately communing with Liszt, Beethoven, and other musical giants isn't really the most interesting speculation while seeing the show. Playwright Robert Ford writes, "What is serious? What is true?" The question is, what makes someone important? What makes someone legitimate? As Rosemary says, the miracle is that "existence continues to exist". We are valid and important and we continue on.

Stages Repertory Theatre presents a play that is so relevant to this time in our culture, when people seem to be willing to do almost anything to get public exposure and the most banal events in the lives of celebrities appear on news crawls. In the character of Rosemary Dunn (last name changed for the play) we see an awkward, skittish woman who doesn't seem to want her divine gifts, let alone put them on display for others to see. So what does Rosemary want?

Amy Herzberg imbues sensitivity and a mousy tentativeness into the role of Rosemary, but Herzberg doesn't just leave it at that; we see a sad, vulnerable person who needs connection and isn't quite sure how to achieve it. Jack Young plays Roy Elgin, an ambitious journalist looking to expose Rosemary as a brilliant fake, and with his expressive face and likable manner he adds interest to a role that could become obnoxious and one-note. The famous (and dead) musicians who use Rosemary for their continual music composition serve as comedic highlights in the show, but also mirror the themes of overwhelming ego and public adoration as the equivalent of self-worth. Justin Doran is authoritative and somber as Franz Liszt, an artist who still craves applause from the grave. The wonderful James Belcher is hilarious as a bossy Beethoven, and his take on the talk show host, Roberts, is perfectly cheesy and cheeky. The smarmy talk show, "Music Talk" is pivotal to the storyline, representing the judging public eye and sending Rosemary into an internal debate- she fears "appearing ridiculous", and yet her musicians want their music to be heard. Elaine Robinson is poised and compelling at Clara Schumann, and adeptly plays off Belcher as a music critic on his show. John L. Egging is reactive and irrepressible as Roy's music world source and plays a certain famous rock star with an appropriate sweetness.

Directed by Seth Gordon, this regional premiere of THE SPIRITUALIST is filled with great performances by adept actors. Some of the scene transitions are a little abrupt and the play sometimes feels choppy in it's pace, but overall this is a strong production with a lot of compelling moments. One of the many impressive aspects of this production is the employment of many different accents used by the cast. Courtney Young was used as a dialect coach for THE SPIRITUALIST and it is clear that Young brings ample expertise to this project.

For tickets to THE SPIRITUALIST, go to: http://stagestheatre.com/shows

Photo Credits: Bruce Bennett

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