Holy Ghosts

Nancy Shedman sits reading in a large-ish, empty, nondescript room. Her husband, Coleman, comes storming in, full of accusations and anger. Little by little the room fills, and Coleman realizes that they are about to have a Pentecostal service, complete with snake-handling. He ends up fighting with many of the people in the room, who are now his wife's friends. He won't leave because he wants his wife to return all the things she "stole" from him when she left him or perhaps even to come back to him. The congregants speak to him with surprising (but not unlimited!) patience, telling him stories from their lives. It's mostly a device to allow the writer, Romulus Linney, to help us understand why people might choose to express their spirituality in extreme ways. The show is about 80% exposition/story-telling, but it works, beautifully. (In terms of structure, it reminded me a bit of the first season of Lost, where we meet the characters one by one.)

Oliver Palmer and Lizzy Jarrett
Photo: James M. Wilson

I worked on the last New York production of Holy Ghosts, 40 years ago (I was show electrician). I was quite impressed with the show, but I thought it had a major flaw. It turns out that play holds up very well--and this production actually fixes the flaw!

Director Judson Jones gets credit for the fix (he says that he discussed the solution with Mrs. Linney, the author's widow) and for directing a smooth, clear, touching production that builds nicely and convincingly throughout its two acts.

[spoiler]
In the performance in the 1970s, they used rubber snakes. The actors shook them to make them look real, but of course it only made them look like rubber snakes being shaken. For this performance, they mime the snakes, and they do it gracefully and with great attention to detail. At one point one of the characters went to pick up a snake, and I nearly grabbed the arm of my friend because I was so apprehensive. I stopped myself and thought, "Well, that solution certainly works!")
[end of spoiler]

Photo: James M. Wilson

The excellent cast is anchored by a strong and subtle performance by Oliver Palmer as Coleman. Coleman is a violent man, but Palmer reveals his confusion and grief in a way that doesn't excuse but does explain him. Palmer calibrates Coleman's mood swings perfectly, and he is a superb listener, which particularly matters here. (As it happens, I have seen a few shows recently that have scenes where the listening is as important as the talking, if not more so. The listeners' ability to listen, to really be there, varied, but the two best were Palmer and Glenn Close. That's damn good company to be in.)

Holy Ghosts is a production of Theatre East; Jones is an artistic director for the group. I had never heard of them, but I will make sure to see their productions in the future. 

And I suggest you see Holy Ghosts if you can (it runs through Oct 6). What more could one ask for than a first-class show at Off-Off-Broadway prices?

Wendy Caster

(press ticket; fifth row)
Show-Score: 90

CAST:

JOHN CANNON: Obediah Buckhorn, Jr.

JERRY COLPITTS: Cancer Man

SHAUN BENNET FAUNTLEROY: Lorena Cosburg

LORI FISCHER: Bonnie Bridge

BRANDON FOX: Howard Rudd

TOM GREEN: Rogers Canfield

LIZZY JARRETT: Nancy Shedman

JON KOVACH: Billy Boggs

JAMES ANTHONY MCBRIDE: Obediah Buckhorn, Sr.

MATTHEW NAPOLI: Carl Specter

OLIVER PALMER: Coleman Shedman

KELSEY SHEPPARD: Muriel Boggs

ALSTON SLATTON: Virgil Tides

DEBRA WASSUM: Mrs. Wall

COREY WHELIHAN: Orin Hart

ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS: Harvey and Kathleen Guion

SCENIC DESIGN: Steven Brenman

COSTUME DESIGNER: Sherry Martinez

LIGHTING DESIGN: Zach Murphy

SOUND DESIGN: Margaret Montagna

PRODUCTION MANAGER: Libby Jensen

PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER: Julia Rae Maldonado

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER: Zac Owens

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Christa Kimlicko Jones

PRESS REPRESENTATIVE: Katz PR

PUBLICITY PHOTOS: James Wilson