Oil Lamp’s ‘Gaslight’ delivers more melodrama than thrills
“Gaslight (Angel Street)” — 2.5 stars
Playwright Patrick Hamilton introduces unease early in “Gaslight,” his 1938 melodramatic thriller about a marriage rooted in greed, manipulation and betrayal in a competent revival running through Nov. 2 at Glenview’s Oil Lamp Theater.
Moments into the play, which unfolds in late 19th-century London in the Manningham family home, husband Jack (Sam Fain) naps as his fretful wife, Bella (Megan Kueter), attempts to purchase muffins from a street vendor. Her husband, having only feigned sleep, speaks up.
“Why are you so apprehensive, Bella?” he asks. “I was not about to reproach you.”
That she automatically assumes he disapproves of her behavior (an assumption he doesn’t disabuse), says everything about their marriage’s unequal power dynamic and the control Jack exerts over his increasingly unsettled wife.
Thus, Hamilton sets up the emotional and psychological scheming that animates the play, whose various incarnations include Broadway’s “Angel Street” and several films, among them George Cukor’s 1944 “Gaslight,” which earned Ingrid Bergman a best actress Oscar.
The play’s title inspired the term “gaslighting,” which refers to a kind of psychological manipulation that causes a person to doubt his or her memories, perception of reality and sanity.
Confronted with her alleged “fantastic, meaningless mischiefs” (involving misplaced trinkets, a lost grocer’s bill, a picture removed from the wall), Bella fears she has inherited her mother’s madness. Jack (played by Fain as a suave opportunist who sugarcoats his cruelty) stokes those fears in an effort to drive her insane so he can profit financially from her diminished mental state.
On opening night, Kueter’s performance felt underdone, as if she hadn’t yet worked out all the character’s beats. But I expect that may improve over the course of the run.
James Sparling fares better as Rough, a detective who solicits Bella’s help with a 15-year-old unsolved murder. Sparling’s avuncular investigator supplies backstory and comic relief. He also instills confidence in Bella, encouraging her to trust her instincts, which she must do if she is to rectify her unbalanced marriage.
Dina Monk plays Elizabeth, the Manningham’s housekeeper, who is loyal to Bella. Monk’s shrewd, subdued performance suggests she’s an ally who knows more about her employers’ relationship than they suspect.
Rounding out the cast is newcomer Charlotte Jaffe as Nancy, the Manninghams’ impudent housemaid, who makes obvious her disdain for Bella and her attraction to Jack.
Oil Lamp’s small stage lends a nicely claustrophobic feel to director Susan Gorman’s revival, which unfolds in a Victorian sitting room designed by Spencer Donovan. However, despite some convincingly abusive moments courtesy of Fain’s villainous Jack, the production lacks a sense of tension and urgency.
To be fair, that may be asking too much of “Gaslight,” which unlike such classics as “The Mousetrap,” “An Inspector Calls” and “Deathtrap” is really more of a melodrama than a proper thriller. In that respect however, Oil Lamp’s revival is an able effort.
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Location: Oil Lamp Theater, 1723 Glenview Road, Glenview, (847) 834-0738, oillamptheater.org
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and 3 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 2
Running time: About 2 hours, 10 minutes, with intermission
Tickets: $55
Parking: On the street
Rating: For teens and older; some references to spousal abuse