Spirit Level @ Rover Dramawerks
—Sam Lisman
Sadly, Jack and Susie (played by Jeff and Heather York) have shuffled off their mortal coil and, one would assume, headed straight for that “undiscovered country.” But that isn’t what’s happened. Jack, a proud atheist, decided to mouth off to St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, and found himself denied entry. Susie, a believer but unwilling to spend eternity without her husband, chose to remain with Jack in their summer cottage in the country—a pair of resident ghosts. Their lives (or afterlives, rather) have been dreadfully boring since then.
All this we learn in the opening scene of Rover Dramawerks’ recent production, English playwright Pam Valentine’s Spirit Level, directed by Glynda Welch. The cottage, bequeathed by the childless couple to Susie’s Australian niece, is currently available for lease (previous occupants having fled because of spooky goings-on).
Enter Mark Webster (Budd Mann), the real estate agent the couple have taken joy in pranking, with a new(ish)ly wed couple, Simon (Sean M. Lewis) and Flic (short for Felicity, and played by Heather Roberts). When Simon notices the cottage contains a complete set of novels by his favorite mystery author, Jack is flattered. Susie, meanwhile, has taken an immediate liking to Flic, who, having now been told the home belonged to the late author, hopes the cottage might be haunted. Flic, by the way, is pregnant.
When it turns out that Simon wants to be a mystery novelist too, but might not have the skills, Jack begins to sour on him. However, the arrival of Flic’s battle-axe of a mother (Sue Goodner) serves to realign sympathies, as does the appearance of Susie’s Guardian Angel (Margaret Young). One wonders: Where was she when Susie and Jack were drowning in a lake in Italy? The GA foretells the dark future awaiting the young couple if Simon’s book flops (or fails to materialize), and she also teaches Susie how to control the minds of the living—Jack can’t do that, being an atheist.
Charles Welch has designed a very effective set for the play: the cottage’s living room/study, with some very nice furniture. The sound (Robbi Holman) and the lighting (Catherine M. Luster) work effectively, while Alison Kingwell’s costumes highlight the differences in the two couples (and one of the better jokes in the play).
The attentive audience member may be slightly confused both about place and time, which I suspect is the result of script alterations. Most likely, Spirit Level was originally set in the rustic British countryside, not New Hampshire. If the mother-in-law is supposed to drive from Brooklyn to New Hampshire (four or more hours one-way) and then return immediately, it doesn’t make much sense. Why not put the “country cottage” closer to NYC? Time period is also a bit muddled: Flic is certainly dressed for the ‘60s, and Susie mentions listening to Chuck Berry records, but some of the early dialogue seems much more current. Moreover, Brooklyn in the 1960s wasn’t really home to the old-money set.
These details may distract—but they don’t inflict much damage. Spirit Level is a fun, cute play with some downright hilarious scenes, particularly those featuring the excellent Goodner (who was splendid in Rover’s Proprioception last year), and the efforts at mind control. And the real-life chemistry between the Yorks (as Susie and Jack) works very well—it felt natural when they got on each other’s nerves, even while still holding great love for each other.
Spirit Level contains some bigger-picture themes, for those inclined to deeper analysis: Susie’s mind-control abilities bring up the issue of free will, and the possible consequences of overriding it. (As, for example, Puck does with one of the lovers in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Demetrius is condemned to spend the rest of his life with Helena, a woman he’s repeatedly rejected, because he’s been “magicked” into believing he loves her.) Also apparent, though not in an in-your-face way, is the decidedly Christian nature of the universe within the play, which is neither ironic nor ridiculed. This makes Spirit Level a bit of an anomaly in modern theater, where it’s unusual for non-Church affiliated plays to take such a positive view of Christianity.
WEB: roverdramawerks.com (Coming next: Keith Lonergan’s Lobby Hero, June 8-24)
