Theatrical tastes and gender sensibilities can change drastically in 86 years. So while a play like Gaslight thrilled audiences in 1938 – as did its more famous movie version six years later – it would be unlikely to captivate theatergoers today.
Enter Patty Jamieson and Johnna Wright, a pair of Canadian actresses-turned-writers who were on the right track with their rewrite of Patrick Hamilton’s Victorian psychological mystery, now dubbed Deceived and currently getting its United States premiere at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre.
Where Jamieson and Wright go wrong is not deciding whether they were writing a melodrama or a comedy. At least that’s the impression that director Marcia Milgrom Dodge and her four-member cast leave in a production that elicited lots of unwanted laughs on opening night, prompted by heavy-handed music riffs and odd lighting cues.
If you have ever seen Gaslight in any version, you probably recall that the question of who is driving emotionally frail Bella Manningham bonkers is solved by an Inspector Rough, who arrives on the scene and ferrets out the villain. In Deceived, Jamieson and Wright eliminate the inspector completely. So with no one to rescue her, Bella must take matters into her own hands in a nice demonstration of female empowerment.
The time is 1901, a slight move forward from Gaslight into the new century and the beginning of the Edwardian period. Bella and her art dealer hubby Jack live in a well-appointed London home, albeit one that might be haunted by the ghost of a woman who was murdered there. Soon after the play begins, a portrait of that woman disappears, unnerving Bella, followed by odd movements of a pearl necklace and a gold bracelet. Either Bella is going crazy or she is a kleptomaniac.
In either case, what’s with those creaking noises coming from the attic, and why does Bella only hear them when Jack goes out at night to allegedly meet with clients? And why are they usually accompanied by the flickering of the house’s gas lights? Presumably Jamieson and Wright wanted to throw suspicion away from Jack, but the only other characters are the longtime housekeeper Elizabeth and the saucy new, nubile maid Nancy. Neither one seems a likely suspect, compared to oily, untrustworthy Jack.
Although the whodunit element fails to be persuasive, director Dodge does get worthy performances from her quartet of actors. Gaby Tortoledo is a standout as Bella, selling a vivid character arc from a wounded bird to a woman pushed to full-blown hysterics and, ultimately, one who slyly gets the upper hand. Kevin Earley (Jack) has a similar challenge of opposites, simultaneously oozing charm and sending out sinister vibes. With minimal stage time, Jan Neuberger (Elizabeth) and Megan Elyse Fulmer (Nancy) both lend the production crucial support. The former radiates an awareness of events in the house’s history that could prove crucial to Bella, while the latter seems peculiarly entitled from her very first entrance.
Michael Schweikardt, a frequent Maltz scenic designer, demonstrates why with his finely detailed, period-rich sitting room set. Similarly, Lex Liang’s costumes are on-target with upstairs/downstairs accuracy and Amanda Zieve handles the crucial gas light fixtures impressively.
Still, even with the improvements of the rewrite, Deceived is unlikely to have audiences on the edge of their seats, as promised. Nor does it compare to such recent stage thrillers as Sleuth or Deathtrap. And frankly, you can get more thrills any night on television, from the comfort of your home.
DECEIVED, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, 1000 E. Indiantown Road, Jupiter. Through Sunday, Nov. 10. $74-$99. 561-575-2223.