Janus Theatre Co.'s 'Miss Julie' has that mismatched feel

Don't let the title of Janus Theatre Company's "Miss Julie on a Midsummer Night" lull you into thinking that you're in for a romantic evening out. The moniker may sound atmospheric, but it is essentially still Swedish playwright August Strindberg's oft-banned 1888 tragedy "Miss Julie."

Though a period piece, Strindberg's 121-year-old drama still has the power to unsettle audiences with its blatant sexuality and contentious class warfare. Elgin playwright and director Terry Domschke's new English "Miss Julie" adaptation (after a translation by Edwin Bjorkman) rarely sounds creaky and succeeds at pulling viewers into the characters' sordid web of lies and recriminations.

That said, Janus Theatre's "Miss Julie" is far from perfect. Elements of the acting and production design have a cobbled-together feel, as if they had been rummaged from a secondhand store.

Depending upon whose side you take on most boys vs. girls scrapes, either the leading lady or the leading man is grossly miscast. Individually, both make valid acting choices and would succeed under different circumstances. But here, they look like a mismatched set.

Sarafina Vecchio is too much the domineering Valkyrie for my tastes as the aristocratic title character. Vecchio's Miss Julie exudes so much initial confidence and sexual drive that when it comes time for her character to emotionally implode, it isn't fully convincing (despite Vecchio's great abilities at turning on the waterworks and wailing at her besmirched state).

As Jean, the aspirational valet who seduces Miss Julie into his service quarters bedroom, Josh Radde talks the talk, but makes one skeptical of his character's physical ability at overpowering Vecchio's driven Miss Julie. If Radde was working with a more delicate actress, he would have been more believable in emotionally manipulating his master's daughter. But paired with Vecchio, Radde isn't imposing enough to rise to her level.

Making these two even more of an uncomfortable match are their ill-fitting period costumes created by Sue Brown and Bernice Ferraro. (Radde's two valet vest jackets aren't properly tailored, therefore making him appear heavier than he really is.)

Lighting designer Andy Murschel also saps some of the seriousness from the proceedings with his cartoonish star patterns on the ceiling. Instead of being romantic, the stars look like someone got bonked on the head. Also, some of the stage lighting appeared to shine directly into the eyes of stage left audience members on opening night, prompting them to scurry into different seats at the top of the play.

As Kristin, the cook who is also Jean's fiance, Catie Early and director Domschke could have plumbed more emotional depth from the role, even though she's typically written off as a minor background character. Yet Early gets much of Kristin's moral indignation just right as she storms around the kitchen after she puts two and two together regarding Miss Julie and Jean's midsummer night of passion.

Sound designer Jimmy Lundstrom unobtrusively incorporates lots of background music behind the dialogue. Yet Lundstrom and stage manager Kelly Herz could have been much more menacing and lustier when they both, doubling as revelers, bounded into the kitchen at the height of the Midsummer Night festivities. Their unannounced appearance does prompt a major turning point in the play, after all.

Janus Theatre deserves some credit for tackling such an important and difficult drama, even if the end result on opening night was plagued with problems. But if you can overlook those gaffes, you'll be in for a treat since Strindberg's pioneering naturalistic tragedy has loads of juicy battle-of-the-sexes drama to dig into.