Indy Theatre Habit

Warning:  This review contains several plot spoilers.  There is a lot of delicious suspense in this tale, so if you do not know the story, go see the show first and then let’s compare impressions.

On Friday I drove to the near north side of Indy to the Hedback Theatre to see the opening night of ”Jane Eyre: A Musical Drama” as presented by Footlite Musicals.  I had never read the novel by Charlotte Bronte, so I was looking forward to improving my cultural literacy.  Also, the costumer, Stephen Hollenbeck, had given me a sneak preview of the rich costumes months ago, and I was curious to see how they had turned out.

Well, gentle reader, the costumes are gorgeous, worth the $17 admission price all by themselves.

And I learned that a line that I had heard in various contexts but never known its origin - ”And so, gentle reader, I married him” - comes from Jane Eyre.  In the musical, of course, Jane says, “And so, gentle audience…”

Speaking of the musical, the music and lyrics are by Paul Gordon.  Book and additional lyrics are by John Caird.  Vocal and incidental music arrangements are by Steve Tyler.  Orchestrations are by Larry Hochman.

Footlite’s presentation was produced by Debbie Noffke.  It was directed by R. Brian Noffke, with vocal direction by John Phillips and Deb Farmer, technical direction by Tom Noffke, and music direction by Deb Farmer.  Amanda Lane is the stage manager.

The director, R. Brian Noffke, also designed and lit the versatile set, using the stage floor door in a clever and new (to me) way.   As the audience enters the theatre, the mostly empty stage is dimly lit only by gas lamps on the darkly painted walls.  There is a huge(!) portrait of a beautiful woman hanging from the ceiling.  (This and another larger-than-life portrait were painted by Ed Trout and Paul Campbell.) 

In the play, people say repeatedly that Jane Eyre is not pretty, but the woman in the portrait is, and so is Brenna Campbell, the actor who plays her.   Beauty is subjective, of course, but also, blindness turns out to be an important theme in this story.

Anyway, the audience entering the theatre also sees that the stage floor door is propped open.  Soon we learn that the opening in the floor is meant to be stairs leading up to an attic.  It will lead to more than one attic, actually, but at the beginning, the adult Jane Eyre looks back on her unhappy childhood at Gateshead Hall.  Her aunt, the horrible Mrs. Reed (Betsy Bullis), and her cousin, the bratty John Reed (Kurt Green), were relentless in their abuse of the orphaned Jane.  The plucky young Jane (Maggie Williams) often escaped (or was banished to) the attic.

Once we are firmly established in the past, in a fit of pique, Mrs. Reed sends the young Jane to a restrictive boarding school.  Here she meets Helen Burns (Shari Raper.)  Her new friend, Helen, sings to her about the importance of forgiveness. Helen sings this even after being whipped with a strap by the formidable headmistress, Miss Scatcherd (Julie Dutcher) as the equally reprehensible headmaster, Mr. Brocklehurst (Bernard Wurger), looks on. 

Like Jane, I struggle with the concept of turning the other cheek.  (What thinking Christian doesn’t?)  I was moved to tears by Raper’s singing.

The Schoolgirls, some of whom are quite young, do a good job singing “Children of God.”  The Schoolgirls include:  Gabrielle Baker, Madeline Coffey, Danielle Colucci, Tess Hannon, Amanda Kennedy, Abbie Wineland, Allie Wineland, Amanda Wenz, Teresa Schrader, Paige Ferise, Yasmine Mhedhbi, Georgie Baker, Carly Butz, Bayley Godzeski, Molly Oates, Kara Oates, Lauren Raker, Lauren Butz, Hannah Bosell, Maggie Venturella, and Ella Spoerle.

Eventually, the now adult Jane Eyre decides she wants something better than living the rest of her life as a teacher at the school, and with the help of the Narrators, she sets off down the road.  The Narrators include: C. Keith Leavell, Josh French, Jeremy Brimm, Dale Cheetham, Mike Jones, Andrew Reddick, Farrah Westerfield, Shari Raper, Betsy Bullis, Julie Dutcher, Kelly Perillo, Kristin Hanlon, and Katie Drake.

Some of the Schoolchildren and Narrators also double as Servants at Thornfield Hall, where Jane finds herself a governess job.  The Servants include:  Karen Webster, Gabrielle Baker, Elena Marr, Tess Hannon, Amanda Kennedy, Danielle Colucci, and Hannah Bosell.  Kurt Green is the Bootboy.  Nils Nordell is the straight-faced and sometimes hilarious butler, Robert.

One of the many things I like about Footlite is that they offer performing opportunities to a lot of people, both theatre rookies and veterans.  They also offer individual actors opportunities to play more than one role in a single production.  In “Jane Eyre,” somehow, all of these people move smoothly together on stage, even though they are in hoopskirts and long coat-tails.  I can only imagine the well-organized pandemonium that is backstage as all of these people haul dresses over wigs and race back to their places and so on, but from the audience everyone appears calm and professional.

In fact, at one point on opening night, one of the actors dropped a glass on stage.   It shattered loudly and there was liquid everywhere.  By this time, Jane Eyre and the master of Thornfield Hall, Edward Fairfax Rochester (Tim Spradlin), were already falling in love.  Brenna Campbell and Tim Spradlin just kept singing to each other over in their well-lit corner, and after a moment or two, one of the maids came out with a dustpan and broom and swept up the mess in the darker area of the “hall.”  Perfect!  Properties mistress Carol Kirk will have to come up with another glass, but that is probably okay.

Getting back to Thornfield Hall…Jane meets her new charge, a French girl named Adele (played with exuberance by Claire Cassidy) and the manager of the house, the semi-deaf Mrs. Fairfax.  Kathleen Clarke-Horrigan is funny and warm as Mrs. Fairfax.  However, sometimes I could not understand what she was singing, so I think I missed several opportunities to laugh.

Jane also meets the master of the house, Edward Rochester.  Supposedly, Edward is as unattractive as Jane: moody and arrogant and rough.  But by the end of the play, I was starting to think of the long-haired Spradlin as Fabio-esque.   His rich voice made me swoon.

Mind you, Rochester creeped me out a little when he repeatedly called Jane his “slender, childlike creature” and his “little elf.”  If it had been me, I would have kept Rochester for my fantasy life and gone to India with the pragmatic St. John Rivers (whose proposal was beautifully and eloquently sung by Jeremy Brimm.)  Ah, well.  Perhaps I am not “brave enough for love.”  I cried during that song, too.

Also, I felt sorry for Rochester’s demented wife (played with disturbing believability by Molly Godzeski), whom he kept shut away in the attic.  Her attendant, Grace Poole (Susan Freeman), with her chilling cackle and her grey braid hanging down in front of her face, made me shudder.  I was very glad that the wife’s brother, Richard Mason (played compassionately by Dale Cheetham), spoke up for her and that the equally compassionate Vicar (Mikes Jones) refused to marry Edward and Jane while Edward was still married to someone else.

However, Campbell and Spradlin did make me believe that Jane and Edward are each other’s “secret souls.”  My heart broke when theirs did, and I cried again in congratulations when they finally, finally, finally found happiness together.

I wonder what happens to the fashionable gold-digger, Blanche Ingram, and her stuffy family? (James Andrew Reddick plays Lord Ingram and Julie Dutcher plays Lady Ingram.)   I don’t feel sorry for Blanche, giving up her plan to marry Rochester, because she never even liked him much, let alone loved him, but I’m curious about her.  In any event, Farrah Westerfield portrays her delightfully.  Westerfeld sings like an opera star and has delectable comic timing.

Stephen R. Hollenbeck’s individual costumes, as I mentioned before, are stunning.  The rich fabrics!  The exquisite attention to detail!  They are even more gorgeous when their wearers twirl gracefully around the stage in choreography by Elena Marr.

The show is not without flaws.  Sometimes the microphones “pop” and crackle distractingly.  Sometimes the orchestra, which sounds lovely on its own, overpowers the actors, especially when they are speaking rather than singing.  The beds and other set pieces that roll on and off stage are distractingly noisy.   I didn’t quite understand why smoke billows up the stairs at a certain point.  Is it supposed to represent the hellfire of Rochester’s guilt and torment or is the house itself already on fire?  Some of the songs sound too much alike.  I think this is what makes the show feel a little too long.  I am not talking about the songs that are actually repeated.  The repetition of “Forgiveness” near the end, for example, is quite powerful.

In any case, for me, the numerous museum-quality costumes, Brenna Campbell’s beautiful musical storytelling, the romantic story itself, and many, many other elements make this show a satisfying one, well worth my time and money.

By the way, when the ushers helped me to my seat, I was delighted to find myself surrounded by actors. I enjoyed talking with Dane Rogers and Sarah Hoback about their work on “Frankenstein.”  This show will be presented by Ghostlight Players and Entropy Productions at the International School of Indiana and is due to open on March 21. 

I also enjoyed meeting and chatting with Brian Kennedy about his recent portrayal of Junior Turpin in “Dearly Departed” in Martinsville.  It was fun to hear how proud Kennedy is of his wife and daughter.  His wife, Cindy Kennedy, is working crew for “Jane Eyre” and his daughter is one of the Schoolgirls.

After the show, I was surprised to find cucumber sandwiches and other English treats available for a donation in the lobby.  Several people told me that Footlite always offers a reception for everyone, including the audience, after opening night.  This is something to keep in mind for future Footlite shows!

Footlite’s production of “Jane Eyre: A Musical Drama” continues at the Hedback Theatre through March 22, 2008.  To make a reservation, please call 317-926-6630.

Hope Baugh - www.IndyTheatreHabit.com