Bell, Book and Candle.

Rating:
Summary: Fun Play, Speaks to Subcultures, But Weakens Toward Close
Review: I can't really believe I'm saying this, but if you've seen the film with Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart, then there's really not much that's new here for you. What the play *does* do, however, is cut out all the extra material that the film introduces, concentrating instead on the facinating love story between the witch Gilian and an "ordinary" man, Shep.

Growing up, I enjoyed the movie because, well, it was about magic and witches and was distinctly urban-filled with smoky underground clubs and jazz. Now that I'm older, however, I appreciate the story because of how I think it speaks to feelings which are present in no doubt many, if not all subcultures. Gillian's uncertainty about being a witch-pride mixed with a longing for something *different* in her life, something she wonders about without being certain that she'd want to actually experience-are very significant to the story.

Unfortunately, Van Druten seems to have lost interest in this thread toward the end of the play. Its close seems to be that of a rather traditional love story, albeit with the trappings of witches and sorcery. Gillian's emotions seem very two-dimensional. Although she says that the emotions she's experiencing are "new" to her, it seems as though she could have had more of an opportunity to try and express them a little better. You don't get a lot of time to sense that much is different with her aside from redecorating her apartment.

Another weakness I found in the play is that it seems the slightest bit rushed after Gillian tells Shep that she's a witch. I always kind of felt that way about the movie, too, but it really seems apparent here without the film's additional distractions and extra scenes. The events in the first two acts and the first scene in Act III take place over two weeks, whereas the final scene in Act III takes place two months later. The events of the preceding two months are summarized, in retrospect, by Gillian's aunt without any real glimpse of what either Gillian or Shep had been like in the interim.

Despite its weaknesses, however, this is an entertaining and even thought-provoking play if you're the type to carry it out of its context and contemplate it a little further. For its sake, I hope you are.