Ghosts

Ibsen's "Ghosts" at the Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center is a modern piece with very good acting. The direction by Jack O'Brien is at a slow pace for most of the one hour and forty five minutes. Although this show should have had an intermission, the play for the most part locks in tightly.

Staying mostly to the original story, Mark O'Rowe adds a different take with the modern and it seems to work well for the most part. The costumes by Jess Goldstein blend with the script. In the modern, many costume designs are very overt, here, they are neither garish nor boring. Goldstein gives us more interesting than anything else. Japhy Weideman's lighting draws a wider swath in that we get big sides and broad overheads. The lighting in this play draw the back-beat of movement that is before us and is well done.

Ibsen has always questioned many things in his writing style. Here, Pastor Manders (Billy Crudup) and Helena Alving (Lily Rabe) banter about God, society and the people who live in it. Ms. Alving is a slow boil here; at first we don't know why, her language at the beginning is tepid, until...

The pastor is eager to do please. He is charismatic and faithful to the Dogma of The Word of God. He is also informative to the ways of the world. As he builds his orphanage, his concern is more how it looks on its face than the good that it will do for children. He also would rather avoid conflict than face it head on; he goes along to get along in society. What is popular and less confrontational is where the pastor sets his focus.

The dialogue between the pastor and Helena can be tense at times. This maybe due to sexual tension; tension with the social status of both. Watching these two great actors interact makes "Ghosts" in of itself worth the price of admission. Regina (Ella Beatty) and Oswald (Levon Hawke) too are very deft in how they interact. The daughter of an embattled Engstrand (Hamish Linklater), she accepts her maid duties more because of her crush on Oswald. Regina is constantly torn between leaving the Norwegian estate and dedicating her life towards the family.

In one setting, director O'Brien is limited in how the actors move about, and yet they all move and speak systematically, with great charisma. It is the preciseness with the entire play that makes it work so well. Each character has a secret, secrets that will be exposed as the play goes on. The way that Ibsen and the direction lets each one out slowly and at the right time makes this classic timeless.

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As the Broadway spring season gets underway, next up is Dorian Grey and Glengary Glenn Ross. Shortly after these two shows will be Boop and Smash. The steady flow from there will all meet the Tony deadline for best play/musical. The two shows that are really crimping the pocket books of audiences are: Othello and Goodnight, and Good Luck. Tickets for these two shows are through the roof! Othello is rumored to be charging &1,000. a ticket, and the seats are in the middle of the orchestra, not even close to the stage! It is rumored that the mezzanine seats are going for $500. and up! This is for a show that I thought was awful. While "Goodnight" is not as bad, it is still very costly. Rear mezzanine seats are going for $250. Orchestra seating can be as high as $750 per ticket.

"Ghosts", Billy Crudup, "Othello", Denzel Washington, Jake Gylennhal, George Clooney, Broadway, Tony Awards.