Strang masterfully exhibits the diametrically opposing sides of this complex role. Whether overseeing her household or the upcoming opening of an orphanage dedicated to her late husband, she depicts a woman who is on top of her game.
Contrast that with the girlish immaturity and refusal to accept reality Strang displays as she dotes upon her son, and one recognizes the skill she brings to the stage.
Pastor Manders, the local cleric, is Alving’s business contact with regard to the orphanage. He owns a closetful of skeletons as well, and actor Joel Swetow does a first-rate job of peeling away the many layers of Manders’ conflicted, self-serving hypocrisy.
Equally exquisite is Mark Bramhall’s finely sculpted performance as a local workman named Engstrand.
Engstrand’s duplicitous nature often brings much-needed comic relief to this drama, and Bramhall’s expertise with subtle understatement never misses a beat.
On the night reviewed, Rebecca Mozo appeared in the supporting role of Regina, Alving’s housemaid. Although another actress will play the role for the remainder of the run, Mozo’s nuanced characterization ably filled her place in this quintet of tortured souls.
Only J. Todd Adams in the pivotal role of Alving’s son, Oswald, seemed out of sync.
Granted, Oswald may be the show’s most complicated role considering what Ibsen has given him.
But Adams’ portrayal of the tortured artist, returned home from abroad, never seems more than two-dimensional, up to and including his second-act breakdown of mind and body.
And, it’s this concluding scene where Murray goes over the top. Adams, suffering the debilitating effects of an unnamed affliction, crawls on the floor while Strang shrieks hysterically. It’s an uncomfortable moment — a sudden and foundationless assault on the senses.
Production values range from excellent to so-so.
Scene designer Angela Balogh Calin provides an early 20th-century drawing room with monochromatically colored upstage panels reminiscent of a mausoleum.
Benjamin Haber Kamine’s sound is haunting melodies and mournful rain.
But Nikki Delhomme’s costuming, particularly Strang’s purple gown, seems ill-fitting.
DINK O’NEAL, an actor and member of the American Theatre Critics Assn., lives in Burbank.
