Ghosts
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Cititour.com Review
If you’ve never seen Henrik Ibsen’s “Ghosts,” you’re probably not alone. Despite the enduring popularity of the famed 19th-century Norwegian dramatist, the play has not graced a Broadway stage in five decades and has even been largely absent from the Off-Broadway repertoire.
Sadly, Jack O’Brien’s eminently watchable but fundamentally flawed production at Lincoln Center Theatre at the Mitzi Newhouse – using a new translation by Mark O’Rowe which condenses the traditionally three-act drama to a swift 110-minute one-acter -- will do little to resurrect its reputation.
At its core, “Ghosts” is essentially a moralistic melodrama full of what were sensationalist topics at the time of its writing – incest, infidelity, euthanasia –all of which can now be found in the plots of any daytime drama or Netflix series. Its relevance to 2025 is strained at best, and – especially here – most of its characters do little to engender our sympathy.
What “Ghosts” does have going for it – much like Ibsen’s better-known “Hedda Gabler” and “A Doll’s House” – is a strong, fascinating female at its center, here the long-suffering widow Helena Alving, embodied by a superb Lily Rabe, returning to the New York stage after a long absence.
Helena has lived for many years with he faithful maid Regina (an engaging Ella Beatty) – who is actually her husband’s illegitimate daughter -- on a remote island. Meanwhile, her now-grown son Oswald (a very pretty if too bland Levon Hawke) -- whom she sent to boarding school at age 7 and who subsequently became an artist in Paris – has just come home, not just to laud his late father but to claim Regina (unaware of their familial connection) and reveal a whopping secret of his own: he’s dying of syphilis (which he unknowingly inherited from his father). Life is obviously about to get very messy.
Mess is something Helena has tried hard to avoid. She has spent most of her life enabling the reputation of her late, wanton husband instead of telling the truth, a decision she has now come to regret. Indeed, “Ghosts” begins on the eve of the opening of an orphanage to be named after him -- which is less about honoring the man than putting his memory behind her – and the time has finally come for her to spill decades worth of long-hidden secrets, no matter the cost. One watches raptly as Rabe’s Helena begins to assert her own beliefs, much like Nora Helmer, and lets other people’s illusions shatter.
Unfortunately, some of the production’s problems stem from the casting of the two other main characters. The usually wonderful Billy Crudup seems completely befuddled about how to play Helena’s god-fearing, judgmental priest, Pastor Maunders, who is also her business advisor and almost-former-lover. One can’t totally blame him, since the part doesn’t take advantage of any of the traits Crudup usually brings to the stage – charm, beauty and intelligence – but he’s surprisingly lightweight and unconvincing in this role.
As Regina’s adoptive father, the wily carpenter Jacob Engstrand, Rabe’s longtime life partner Hamish Linklater pushes way too hard to be the show’s comic relief, with slightly askew line readings and bits of unnecessary physical business. As a result, whatever pain we might feel for him when he learns the actual circumstances of Regina’s birth is unlikely to be felt by audiences.
The show’s physical production is good, if not spectacular. John Lee Beatty’s minimalist dining room set – little more than a big wooden table and some chairs – is attractive. Jess Goldstein’s costumes are mostly workman-like, although the off-white sweater and pants worn by Hawke wouldn’t look out of place in an Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue (nor would Hawke). Best of all, Japhy Weidman’s excellent lighting, combined with Mark Bennett and Scott Lehrer’s fine sound design, create a suitably moody atmosphere.
Ultimately, I do believe the right production that “Ghosts” could haunt audiences for days. Here, Rabe’s excellent performance may linger in one’s memory for a while, but everything else will be quickly forgotten.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
https://www.lct.org/shows/ghosts/
Open/Close Dates
Opening 3/10/2025
Closing 4/13/2025
Theatre Info
Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater
150 West 65th Street
New York, NY 10023
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