Playwright: Emily Schwartz. At: Strange Tree Group, Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St. Tickets: 312-742-8497; www.dcatheater.org; $20. Runs through: Nov. 8
The Spirit Play is an engaging two-hour world premiere that doesn't quite levitate into the realm of magical theater. One reason, perhaps, is the familiar premise. There have been many shows and stories about the phony clairvoyant or medium who unexpectedly channels a real spirit from the Other Side, generally to the cynical disbelief of his/her confederates. What does he/she make of the situation? Is it good or bad? Why has the spirit crossed over? Does it have unfinished business in our temporal world? Is the spirit a short-term intruder or is the medium possessed forever? The merit of the story isn't the premise, but how the usual questions may be answered.
Playwright Emily Schwartz chooses 1870s Chicago as her setting, focusing on two sisters and an avaricious husband who operate a Spiritualism scam on the unsuspecting and/or the willingly susceptible. When medium Jane Foust unexpectedly makes a real connection, it ignites a love triangle of sorts which ends with the villain dragged down to hell and the lovers parting, perhaps forever (but perhaps not). The Faustian detail and the homonymic name, Foust, are amusing twists.
However, some story elements seem thin. It's revealed early that two characters secretly are married, a fact that has no real relevance to the outcome. Also, Foust channels the spirit of a suicide, yet the causes of her self-destruction are not explored although her grieving husband is a key figure. Schwartz can strengthen these elements without turning her light drama into dark tragedy. She also has an opportunity for a broad comic scene using the talisman ring through which the deceased is channeled. If the ring were passed around the séance circle, each character—male and female—could momentarily be inhabited by the spirit, especially the foppish Hubert Redspell (Scott Cupper).
The visual production has the imaginative and artistic details in set, costumes and special effects which are a signature of Strange Tree Group's work. For example, Joe Schermoly's scenic design provides an unusual seven-sided séance room with richly striped period wallpaper and cut-away lath-and-plaster walls, and Delia Baseman's costumes provide bustled dresses for the women in muted color-on-color patterns. Unusual for Strange Tree Group, it's a naturalistic physical context for a realistic play, far from the explorations of fantasy, fairytale and fable which have been the troupe's meat and potatoes. This time the fantastic elements come from the characters themselves rather than from the external universe in which the tale is set.
Returning guest director Jimmy McDermott skillfully commands the play and players, with Delia Baseman (Foust) and Matt Holzfeind (Gerard) especially strong in central roles. McDermott allows his cast some amusing melodramatic exaggeration in keeping with the period setting and fantastic story.
