Review #5: The Turn of the Screw

Scenery, Lighting Turn Pelican Black Box Into A Scary Mansion at Naked Stage

BY RON LEVITT Florida Media News / ENV Magazine

And, How about those actors; Katherine Amadeo and Matthew William Chizever!

MIAMI – One would think that after years of reviewing shows, it would be impossible for an acting group to actually chill this writer (In addition to a much improved new air conditioning system). WRONG!!

Somehow or other, set designer Antonio Amadeo and lighting designer/director Margaret Ledford and two fantastic actors make life so eerie and creepy, one actually forgets this is all happening in a theatre. Goosebumps are the order of the day!

The audience won’t need much of an imagination to feel the creepiness around them as it visits the Naked Stage at Barry University ‘s haunted mansion where Jeffrey Hatcher’stheatrical adaptation of HenryJames’ ghost story “The Turn of the Screw” takes place. Amadeo – with the major assist from his wife/ lovely actress Katherine Amadeo and the versatile leading man, Matthew William Chizever -- have transformed the black box theatre into the scariest fun house since Halloween was inaugurated.

The Naked Stage promotional material literally sets the stage….. “a young governess journeys to a lonely manor house to care for two recently orphaned children”: She learns that there was another governess beforehand who drowned herself when she became pregnant by a sadistic valet, who is also now deceased. Is Ihis house haunted by their apparitions or are they just make-believe ghosts of the children’s imagination?

Two actors create an intensely creepy world that lures the audience into its chilling tale with great use of theatrical magic. It is a superb ghost story and a vivid entertaining experience..

Making sense of the stylized language of 19th century England alone is a daunting task for the acting duet , but –along with the spread of fear --the two actors are perfectly in synch….. never leaving the stage or playing multiple characters. One must give credit to both actors plus the dialect coach Kathryn Johnston. In any case, the audience is left with a massive lump of scary moments. Despite the inguistic challenge, The Naked Stage has found a way to make this piece accessible to its made-in-Miami audience. Katherine Amadeo and Chizever tell this story with a reality twist which seems totally plausible for1870. It transcends what one expects in theatre. Katherine; Amadeo evokes a ghost-like presence as she turns mad. Chizever, one of the area’s most admirable actors , switches hauntingly between three roles – the sinister bachelor, a compassionate caretaker and a 10 year-old boy.

To support these two magical performances, Director. Ledford has shaped this work beautifully. Her lighting design works hand in hand with Antonio Amadeo’s amazing grey-toned set and the fine-tuned scare-the-hell-out-of-them actors. Whether it is the interior of the house of Bly, the garden or a nearby river, this company has a brilliant way of making the audience see ghosts and images that are only in someone’s mind or befitting this valuable script. !

The Pelican Theatre is located on the campus of Barry University in Miami Shores. “The Turn of the Screw” runs through August 12th. For tickets, call 866-811-4111 or visit www.nakedstage.org.