Review: The Book of Spectres (Grey Ghost Theatre)

  
  
The Book of Spectres

Translated and Adapted by Evan Chung
From the tales of Johann August Apel  
Directed by Amber Robinson
at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago (map)
thru Oct 20  |  tickets: $20   |  more info
  
Check for half-price tickets 
  
  
   Read review
  

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Strong cast elevates so-so script

Grey Ghost Theatre presents

The Book of Spectres

Review by Lauren Whalen 

Tis the season for ghost stories. And when they’re enacted by the literati, so much the better. Grey Ghost Theatre’s The Book of Spectres reimagines actual events: a bizarre summer in 1816 which eventually led to Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel “Frankenstein”. The concept is excellent, the acting and production values, mostly so. However, the uneven script can’t quite overcome itself, and the result is a decidedly so-so production that’s nothing more than a specter of its own potential.

The entire Northern Hemisphere felt a massive negative effect in 1816, thanks to a massive Indonesian volcano that erupted the year before. The resulting aerosols, ash and dust blocked the sun’s light and cast an unseasonable chill over the planet, and as a result 1816 was dubbed “The Year Without a Summer”. It was during that fateful aborted summer that English travelers Lord Byron (Andrew Bailes), Percy Bysshe Shelley (Tim Parker), his lover Mary Godwin (Maggie McCally) later known as Mary Shelley, her stepsister Claire (Hilary Holbrook) and Byron’s physician John William Polidori (Aaron Lawson) vacationed in Switzerland. Finding themselves housebound thanks to the rain and cold, the quintet found themselves drawn to a collection of ghost stories – but when mysterious Lorelei (Alexis Randolph) seeks shelter from the storm, her presence blurs the lines between reality and deadly fiction.

The Book of Spectres’ major faults mainly lie in its source material. Though the story itself is compelling, the manner in which it’s told is odd. The set up is explained presentation-style by the cast (complete with visual aids), and the ghost stories themselves are far more interesting than the characters telling them. There’s no sense of personal relationships: everyone’s connection to one another explained above, is information that’s provided in the program. The pacing is odd: the first act feels much longer than the second, and the framing device around the ghost stories often feel superfluous. Some inconsistencies are due to the cast and crew: at one point an actress crossed herself incorrectly (any Catholics in the audience will catch mistakes like that right away), a tag was visible at the bottom of a globe in the prologue, and at one point director Amber Robinson’s blocking bore a strong resemblance to “Scooby-Doo”. Finally, Lauren Nigri’s set design feels incomplete: though the play itself transcends time and space, one would think that the walls of a vacation home would have something on them.

However, the production possesses some strengths. Aside from the weak set, the production values are appropriately spooky, particularly John Weygandt’s inventive lighting design, Stuart Seale’s creepy score and Morgan Fogerty’s excellent choreography. The cast conveys a fun, boisterous energy as they play various roles in and out of the stories. Lawson displays stellar comic timing, while Bailes and Parker relish each opportunity for high and low drama. Randolph gives the outsider Lorelei a quirky, sinister charm, and Holbrook slides in and out of each vignette with energetic ease. Unfortunately, McCally appears out of her element in every possible way: she moves well, but her delivery is both weak and far too contemporary, and she fails to match the energy of her fellow actors. Her resume is strong, so I can only assume she was miscast here.

While I enjoyed The Book of Spectres, the production as a whole falls short, and I can’t in good conscience wholly recommend it. Not until the second act did I stop asking myself, “What is this play about?” I understood the plot and characters, but the reason the show exists at all eludes me. Much of this is due to the uneven script, which five extremely capable actors elevate as much as they can – but still, it’s not enough.

Rating: ★★½

The Book of Spectres continues through October 20th at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago (map), with performances Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays 2pm.  Tickets are $15-$20, and are available online through BrownPaperTickets.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at GreyGhostTheatre.org.  (Running time: two hours 15 minutes, includes an intermission)

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artists

cast

Andrew Bailes (Lord Byron), Hilary Holbrook (Claire Clairmont), Aaron Lawson (John William Polidori), Maggie McCally (Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin), Tim Parker (Percy Bysshe Shelley), Alexis Randolph (Lorelei)

musicians

Stuart Seale (piano), Katie Andrick, Zara Zaharieva (violins), Caitlin Andrew, Kimberly Sutton (cellos)

behind the scenes

Amber Robinson (director), Lauren Nigri (set and props design), Brittany Dee Bodley (set design, props assistant), John Weygandt (lighting design), Piper Hubbell-Robinson (costume design), Michael Huey (sound design), Morgan Fogarty (choreography and movement), Stuart Seale (musical score, piano), Anna Lafontant (stage manager), Alyson Kulin (asst. stage manager), Jack Bentley (producer), Alan Callaghan (production assistant, photographer), Ryan Duggan, Casey Searles (illustrations).

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