A Beautiful Spell - Recommended

It had to happen. I managed to see two plays - penned by different playwrights, performed by different actors and produced in different venues - that bear such a strong resemblance to each other that comparisons are, for me, nearly impossible to avoid. Therefore, I'll postpone the comparison until the end of this entry.

A Beautiful Spell, from the pen of Greg Kalleres and presented at the Royal George Theatre, starts with the disquieting premise that one can awaken in the middle of the night with a terror sufficient to turn your world upside down. In this case, the terror is Franny's, who has the shattering experience of discovering she no longer loves her husband of nine years, Jim.

It's a rather intellectual premise that quickly gains solid footing under the talented performances of Maggie Corbett and Eric Burgher. The writing is both believable and fluid, making the several round trips necessary between angst and humor that are necessary for a story of this sort. The staging is in the round, so that the audience is close to this intimate struggle in every sense. And the set - the couple's bedroom - is for the most part very well executed, although the use of plastic for the windows was a distraction that could have been avoided without (it would seem) much additional expense.

The story itself seemed a little long, since the revelations that come don't deepen our understanding of the characters significantly, and so some of the middle section started to get repetitive. This was offset, though, by Mr. Kalleres' comedic talents and the vigor of the performances.

The question in stories like this is how they will be resolved, and I will not give away the ending. However, the penultimate moment is quite stirring, and the closing in good counterpoint to it.

So, why only "Recommended?" Here's where the comparison starts to rear its head, but I will nonetheless attempt to remain objective.

Basically, the story lacked an "edge." It raised the question of Tevye and Golde - if being married for all these years isn't love, what is? - in a way that was, for me, just a shade too intellectual. The presumed insecurities which kept the banter going made it seem too often more like curiosity than soul searching. The premise opened a door to darker passages, but no one ever really stepped through them.

The other play? "50 Words," which was presented at Profiles Theatre with almost identical staging, premise and setting (two parents of a young boy who discover their marital problems, set in the kitchen rather than the bedroom). That was a darker, edgier, bawdier, and far more difficult play. Were it in production, I would have no problem recommending which to choose. But, if you're looking for a less troubling, well-acted and written exchange between a young couple discovering that marriage ain't all it's cracked up to be, your time and money would be well spent at "A Beautiful Spell."