Dan's Papers - June 12, 2009 - Review: Bell, Book and Candle at Bay Street

Revivals can be many things. Some are snapshots of times gone by, allowing us to remember (if we were around) or get a glimpse of popular attitudes and cultural mores. That was the case last year when Bay Street presented Christopher Durang's Beyond Therapy. For someone who lived in New York in the '80s, the period piece was a hilarious flashback to that unique time and place.

Revivals can also be history lessons based on actual political or social events. Others are timeless portrayals of humanity that never seem dated.

John Van Druten's Bell, Book and Candle, the first main stage production presented by the Bay Street Theater this season, falls in that last category, despite the fact that it's a fable. Other than a few 1950s references (the Kinsey Report, for one), the play could be set in a modern day New York Park Avenue apartment building inhabited by socialites. The fact that a few of those socialites happen to be witches makes it more interesting.

The play - a trifle, really - was the inspiration for the 1960s TV series, "Bewitched" (famous for its two Darrens). A beautiful witch, Gillian Holroyd, played by the Arija Bareikis (TV's "Southland," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Without a Trace") has a thing for her upstairs neighbor Shepherd Henderson, played by Sam Robards (Tony nominee in The Man Who Had All The Luck, and TV's "Gossip Girl"). Gillian casts a little cupid's arrow spell on Shepherd, who is engaged but hardly in love. It does the trick - Shepherd falls for Gillian. But what is surprising (to Gillian at least, if not so much to the audience) is that she falls in love with him - something a witch is not supposed to be able to do. Her feelings for him humanize her and by experiencing love, she also gets to feel anger, pain, disappointment - you get the picture.

During the three-act play (this was the '50s remember), Bareikis takes her character from a cool, detached witch who seems to be going through the motions of what it feels like to be in a romance, to a more emotional, flesh and blood woman scorned.

An interesting twist in the play, directed by Tony-award-winner Jack Hofsiss, is a role reversal of the typical '50s male/female stereotypes, particularly on the subject of marriage. Once he gets the love bug, Robards' Shepherd becomes almost giddy, assuming the role of the housewife to be, tidying up the tea table and even posing on the sofa like an ingéénue, as Gillian had in act one. In an amusing bit of dialogue, the young witch tries to explain that she doesn't know if she could change enough to settle down and be married. Not knowing she's a witch, Shepherd thinks she's referring to her wanderlust, and tries to reassure her that marriage won't cramp her style.

As Shepherd, Robards is the quintessential '50s man in a grey flannel suit who turns foot loose and fancy free under the spell. Matt McGrath (Broadway's Cabaret, A Streetcar Named Desire and the film Boys Don't Cry) is Gillian's plotting warlock brother. Two cast members take the play into broader comedy. Gordana Rashovich does an animated, sometimes campy and often funny turn as Aunt Queenie. Her welcome energy is met by Jarlath Conroy in the role of "witch expert" Sidney Redlitch, even if the performance leaned toward cartoon-ish now and then.

I daresay the real star of the show was the gorgeous set designed by Bay Street Managing Director (and former Broadway set designer) Gary Hygom. While it had plenty of nods to 1950s décor, the rich red walls dense with artwork, thick gold ceiling moldings, and traditional antique furniture could easily be found in an upscale Pre-war Manhattan condo today. Costumes by Toni Leslie-James - particularly the women's dresses - were stunning and period-perfect. There were some fun special effects like smoking books and sparkly fires.

Bell, Book and Candle previews through Friday, June 5. Opening night is Saturday, June 6. The shows run through June 28. Purchase tickets online at www.baystreet.org, by calling 631-725-9500, or at the Box Office.