The Arts / Reviews

REVIEW: ‘Angel Street’ turns up the gaslight

By David Burke | Saturday, October 11, 2008 | () comments

>>> “Angel Street” is one of those classic scripts that community theaters feel the need to revive every now and again. (A poster for it from the early 1960s hangs in the stairwell at Playcrafters Barn Theatre in Moline, for example.)

Richmond Hill Players in Geneseo, Ill., it taking its turn with the show, concluding this weekend, and although the production is serviceable, it’s a bit tough to see what the fuss is all about.

Better known as its movie adaptation, “Gaslight,” it’s set in 19th-century London, where Jack Manningham (Tom Naab) is trying to console his mentally unstable wife (Rebecca May) while plotting behind her back.

With a thick moustache and an occasionally cocked eyebrow, Naab has the makings of a delicious villain. (He even received some belated boos during the curtain call on opening night.)

May looks the part of Bella, appearing as though she was plucked off a cameo brooch. But much of her performance is one-note, with a delivery that’s far too stilted and unnatural.

Local theater veteran James Driscoll comes to the rescue as Inspector Rough, the retired Scotland Yard detective who becomes Bella’s only ally and confidante.

Driscoll has a natural delivery of the British accent that begins each line with a whisper and makes its way to a credible dialect. (Think Hugh Grant plus a couple of decades.)

While Naab has more of a Bostonian accent and May has no discernable dialect, Driscoll has it nailed.

Molly McLaughlin, who plays, along with Lisa Kahn, two of the couple’s servants, occasionally delivers the accent, but she also slips out of it. McLaughlin portrays a nice balance of rebel and seductress while Kahn’s character is there to advance the story.

Driscoll’s inspector is convinced that Naab’s Manningham is the same person who murdered a woman in the same house 15 years earlier, and he has to convince May’s character that he is on the up-and-up.

Director Tom Morrow has an obvious affinity for the show, as evidenced in his program notes. He well utilizes the in-the-round staging at the Barn Theatre and keeps a brisk pace, but it doesn’t quite create a compelling show.

Technical director Jennifer Kingry provided an unintentional laugh on opening night, when Naab turned up the power on the essential-to-the-script gaslight and the flame rose in another sconce facing it.

Gaffes and a few performances aside, if you want to see one of the stalwarts in the community theater genre, head to “Angel Street.”

David Burke can be contacted at (563) 383-2400 or dburke@qctimes.com. Comment on this review at qctimes.com.

IF YOU GO

What: “Angel Street” by Richmond Hill Players

When: 7:30 p.m. today through Saturday, Oct. 11; 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 12

Where: Barn Theatre, Richmond Hill Park, Geneseo, Ill.

How much: $8

Information: (309) 944-2244 or RHPlayers.com on the Web