Ghosts at BAM

[skynyc]

It's one of "those" plays. Classic. Read (and discussed) by the pretentious kids in your college Lit class, when you stood at the back of the bookstore and skimmed the Cliffs Notes. (Yes, from the days before Wikipedia.) It was banned when it was written so it must have been provocative.

 

This production of Ghosts, by Henrik Ibsen, currently playing at BAM proves why the pretentious kids were right, (damn it); why Cliff's Notes really aren't a decent substitute for the real thing; and provocative? In 1881? You bet!

 

This new adaptation by Richard Eyre, (who is also the director) moved from London and is clean and accessible. Trimmed to a brisk 100 minutes without an intermission, the language and images are powerful, the performances are stunning and while still set in the late 1800s, it isn't at all stodgy or stilted...the ideas presented are as contemporary as any you'd see on Bravo: religious hypocrisy, strong women, incest, STDs, sexual payoffs, and madness.

 

So hard to review a classic of this nature without specific spoilers, but I really want to encourage folks to head to BAM and catch Lesley Manville's Olivier Award-winning performance, matched by the company of four around her. The set and lighting aren't subtle...it's called Ghosts for a reason, but the set beautifully evokes the period, and the required lighting effects, which are almost cliche, only contribute to the heartbreak.

 

The particulars: I saw this as part of my BAM subscription, but there were seats (and discounts) available. It plays through 5/3, and is a very easy 20 minute train ride from 14th St. on the 2,3,4 or 5. I was excited to be sitting behind Stephen Sondheim. Who's it for? Anyone who appreciates or is curious about the classics. This is one of those productions that made me think...Hmmm...I may not ever need to see Ghosts again....it's hard to imagine it could be better than this.