PicksInSix Review: Gaslight - Northlight Theatre
Northlight’s Taut Thriller Keeps You Guessing.
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton
One of our most prolific and respected American playwrights, Steven Dietz, takes on a famous story based on a 1938 Patrick Hamilton play, which then turns into a 1944 George Cukor classic film with an Academy Award-winning performance by Ingrid Bergman. The result here is “Gaslight,” a taut and fun thriller now playing at Northlight Theatre through January 4.
Mr. Dietz has crafted a period piece of murder, thievery and deception at a fashionable home in New York City, with all the weighty circumstance the great writer will muster. The proceedings are conducted in a stylish, loving way by Jessica Thebus, whose direction changes tempo often enough to instill a sense of variety in what could have been a creaky idea without taking away from the expert storytelling. It is almost symphonically steered, if that makes sense, like a stellar musical score. There is lots to enjoy here for mystery and thriller fans, as the words of Mr. Dietz and the vision of Ms. Thebus seek to collaborate directly to register those multiple points of impact.
To give away the plot to those who may not know it would be to deprive them of a joyful discovery. But in a nutshell: Jack and Bella are a married couple who face constant problems. Bella is experiencing a kind of slow-motion emotional freefall, as Jack seemingly tries to be a calming influence. They have gone to doctors galore to decipher the problem. Bella apparently forgets small things like where she put a grocery bill, where a painting on the wall has disappeared to and then suddenly is found. The damage it is all doing to their marriage is almost irreparable. And there are all kinds of distractions along the way. There are unexplained footsteps that are heard in the night, footsteps that only Bella hears. Jack, in the meantime, goes out at night and enjoys his friends and his revelry, ignoring his wife's travails. And slowly we begin to recognize the real intention here—Jack is driving his wife to madness. But why?
Then there is the sudden and remarkable appearance of a quirky Scotland Yard officer, who explains why he is there to Bella. Bella, of course, is practically on the brink of insanity by this time. But the officer somehow earns her trust and goes along with his plan to find missing gems and to capture the murderer of a woman in that same house so long ago. Along the way, there are two employees of the house, both of whom are loyal to Bella, and who bring a pronounced mystery and fun to the moments at hand, as they assist the officer in their own ways.
A stellar cast brings it all to life. Cheyenne Casebier is eloquent and emotional as Bella, the tender-hearted wife who is slowly being driven crazy. Lawrence Grimm is Jack, and he's properly villainous and smarmy as the manipulative husband. Timothy Edward Kane is Sergeant Rough, the officer from across the pond and the marvelous comic lynchpin in the story. The wonderful Kathy Scambiatterra is Elizabeth, one of the maids who has lovely comic moments in her assistance of the Sergeant, and Janyce Caraballo is Nancy, played as lively and brassy and especially flirtatious to Jack near the end. Two young officers, portrayed by Gavin Rhys and Nathan Reilly, arrive for the final arrest at the play's conclusion.
Much admiration should go to Collette Pollard's set design of the house, both cavernous in one sense and sparse in another, in its depiction of two floors of the home. JR Lederie's light plot is highly mysterious and almost noir-like in its intent. The expert Andre Pluess layers a sound design of sparse touches and variety into the gathering, a perfect approach for this play. All in all, “Gaslight” is a fabulous experience to witness at this holiday season.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL. www.solochicagotheatre.com. Coming soon, his new solo play about Ben Franklin, THE FIRST EMBASSY.
PHOTO|Michael Brosilow
Northlight Theatre
presents
Gaslight
9501 Skokie Boulevard
Skokie
through January 4, 2026
WEBSITE
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