That Old Black Magic

First let me say that I will be happier today. I promise...

So, I've got this friend. We'll call him Jason - which is good, 'cause that's his name - and he is currently performing in the play "Bell, Book, and Candle" at the Neighborhood Playhouse in Decatur. I had not been to a play at this theatre in probably 15 years and from what I could recall I wasn't horribly impressed by the production of values of what I saw back then. The sets, costuming, and casting were second rate at best. Well, I'm happy to say that things have improved immensely. This is really a great little play. For those who don't know the story, here's the nutshell version - A woman falls for the guy living upstairs from her. Problem # 1 - he's engaged to someone else. Problem # 2 - she's a witch and as such can not technically fall in love. Still, a spell is cast. The guy falls head over heels. There's magic and deception and a lot of humor thrown in for good measure - It's a good story and with the right cast can be a great play to watch.

Fortunately, this production has a strong cast that is overall much better than what you would normally expect from some local playhouses. (This is not a slam on community theatre. I have worked on and directed a couple of local projects in the past so I know what kind of budgets and talent pools are out there to work with.) Anyway, I digress because the cast on BB&C is great. One particular standout is Coco Chalfant as Queenie Holroyd. She is funny and eccentric and owns every scene she's in. It took me a little while to get used to Shawna Tucker as Gillian Holroyd. It's not that Shawna is not talented, because she definitely is. She is just not the picture of this character that I had in my head. Still, I came around to her performance and think that overall she did a great job as the conflicted witch who sets the events of the story into motion. Jason Vaughn is outstanding as Shep Henderson - the publisher who lives upstairs that Gillian has her eye on. Jason has a great sense of comic timing that is essential in what is really the "straight" role in the play. His whole performance seems effortless and you really believe in and relate to Shep because of Jason's portrayal of the character. This play is a lot of fun and is perfect for the Halloween season... but don't take my word for it. Go check it out for yourself. You won't be disappointed :)

I know most of you who check out this blog do it for movie reviews, but I have been seriously unmotivated to write any lately and besides, I'd rather encourage everyone to go see BB&C :) However, I'm doing screenings of "The Grudge" and "Alfie" this week so I will defnitely try to get something posted about those. I also saw this great little film called "Around the Bend" this past weekend and I promise to post a review of it, but just don't have the time to do it today. Happy Monday!