------------------------------------------------------------------- Musical at Theatreworks is a breath of fresh 'Eyre' ------------------------------------------------------------------- originally posted at http://ae.bayarea.com/entertainment/ui/bayarea/stage.html?id=47409&reviewId=17062 Karen D'Souza Mercury News Published: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 About a half hour into "Jane Eyre," in its Northern California premiere at TheatreWorks, something mysterious happens. Despite the cloying sameness of the music, generic swells of surging melody that smack of Andrew Lloyd Webber, director Robert Kelley's unabashedly romantic production starts to win you over. Almost before you know it, Charlotte Brontė's beloved 19th-century epic has you head over heels while still in your seat. The director has brought a tremendous amount of heart to Paul Gordon and John Caird's uneven period musical, which ran only six months on Broadway. Overcoming the blandness of the score, he takes us deep into the psyche of one of literature's most irrepressible heroines. Joe Ragey's set and Steven B. Mannshardt's lighting invoke Gothic atmosphere artfully, without a lot of fussy stagecraft to detract from the heart-pounding performances at its core. Born into poverty, abused by her relations and damned by fate, Jane Eyre lives in a cruel world but clings to her bravery and decency. She's a beacon of candor in a society that prizes only appearance. Margaret Nichols (who's almost too pretty to play the plain Jane) finds truth in this paragon of virtue, an independent spirit trapped in a suffocating time. Nichols' acute performance seems to emanate from her eyes -- ever alert, often crushed. This Jane knows that as a governess, despite her obvious taste and intelligence, she's only a few steps away from the poorhouse. The scenes from her tragic childhood at the hands of tyrannical Aunt Reed (Karen E. Hall) and the despotic orphanage Vicar (Lee Strawn) suffer from fitful pacing, but the show finds its pulse halfway through the first act. From the moment Jane first encounters Edward Rochester (David Hess) in the mists that cloak the moors about Thornfield Hall, the sparks fly. It's the perfect marriage of chemistry and technique. As the mysterious lord of the manor, Hess strikes a potent balance between troubled and dashing. His brooding Rochester and Nichols' tremulous Jane seem utterly different yet perfectly matched. Their abortive flirtation hints at the cauldron of repressed desire that was the Victorian age. Time and again, the acting rescues the show from the score (despite the cast's fine voices). However, there is one number that's delicious in its teasing wit. Although such songs as "Sirens" and "Secret Soul" are humdrum lush, "The Gypsy" captures the eccentricity of Brontė's characters in breezy melody. The one element of this melodrama that even Kelley's deft staging cannot salvage is the sterotypical madwoman in the attic (Darla Wigginton). Each time she appears menacingly in the shadows, it's an almost comic interlude, and this unintentional humor dispels some of the haunting atmosphere. But the production rebounds quickly from these lapses. The ensemble definitely plays a hand. Diana Torres Koss delights as the ditzy old housekeeper Mrs. Fairfax and lends just the right comic flair to "Perfectly Nice" and "Slip of a Girl." Marla Kavanaugh nails the high-pitched trill of husband-hunting diva Blanche in "Finer Things." Lianne Marie Dobbs sings like an angel in "Forgiveness." In the end, however, "Jane Eyre" lives or dies in the tender exchanges between its unlikely lovers. And in this TheatreWorks incarnation, those moments have the power to take your breath away. Jane Eyre Music and lyrics by Paul Gordon, book and additional lyrics by John Caird, based on the novel by Charlotte Brontė, produced by TheatreWorks Upshot: Despite its flaws, it's hard not to fall in love with this hopelessly romantic musical. Where: the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, Castro and Mercy Streets, Mountain View When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays; 8 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays (also 2 p.m. April 26 and May 3; 7 p.m. April 27) Through: May 4 Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes with one intermission Tickets: $20-$43; (650) 903-6000, www.theatreworks.org ------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact Karen D'Souza at kdsouza@sjmercury.com or (408) 271-3772.