☰

InkBlog

Grand Magic

With three acts, 18 characters and sweeping themes of love, death and illusion, "Grand Magic" can certainly be called "grand." But is it "magic"? Not quite -- at least not in A Contemporary Theater's current production. Though thoughtful and beautifully designed, it's simply too rambling and too unbalanced to cast a convincing spell.

With three acts, 18 characters and sweeping themes of love, death and illusion, Italian playwright Eduardo de Filippo’s 1948 “Grand Magic” can certainly be called “grand.” But is it “magic”? Not quite — at least not in A Contemporary Theater’s current Seattle production. Though thoughtful and beautifully designed, it’s simply too rambling and too unbalanced to cast a convincing spell.

The fault doesn’t lie in a lack of talent: ACT’s production features a new, English translation by Thomas Simpson, who earlier translated de Filippo’s “Saturday, Sunday, Monday” for the Long Wharf Theater and Pittsburgh Public Theater. It was staged by the distinguished Bulgarian-born director Mladen Kiselov and designed by Narelle Sissons.

Related Stories

digital faces VIP+

Generative AI Fueling ‘Exponential’ Rise in Celebrity NIL Rip-Offs: Exclusive Data

JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX, (aka JOKER 2), from left: Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, Joaquin Phoenix as Joker, 2024. © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

Inside the ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Debacle: Todd Phillips 'Wanted Nothing to Do' With DC on the $200 Million Misfire

First-string Seattle actor John Procaccino is featured as the cuckolded husband, Calogero Di Spelta. He’s joined by regional theater stalwart Ken Ruta, riveting as the magician Otto Marvuglia.

Popular on Variety

All this talent adds up to individual scenes that are as deft and wondrous as well-practiced sleight-of-hand tricks. But somehow the team can’t pull off the ultimate illusion of making a series of absurd occurrences seem integrated and consequential.

The story follows the twisted relationship between Calogero and Otto. Their paths first cross on a sand-covered stretch of beach at an Italian seaside resort, where Calogero is vacationing with his unhappy wife, Marta (Mari Nelson). Otto, who arrives to put on a show, uses his skills as a magician (and con artist) to help Marta “disappear” with her lover.

In the second act, Calogero hunts down Otto in his seedy city tenement (represented by one long staircase going up and a trapdoor going down). He has a police detective in tow, but not even the law can make Marta reappear.

The final act finds Calogero — older and broken — in his dusty villa, surrounded by mirrors and paintings half-buried in sand. He and Otto engage in one last battle of wits and philosophies, discussing the human mind and condition.

Numerous subplots and minor characters appear and disappear as the play travels the long, three-hour road from farce to tragedy and back again. One minute, the detective does a pratfall down the staircase; the next, an innocent girl falls sick and dies. Along the way, there are countless comic bits of business that unfold at such a leisurely pace that the audience has ample time to wonder how everything connects.

One theme running throughout is the notion that life and death are illusions, that our perceptions — not the physical world — are the sole reality. In this illusory world, “God” is the greatest magician of all, who can make life appear and disappear at will.

Procaccino, Ruta and the rest of the cast do their best to bring to earth the play’s philosophical flights. Procaccino, often cast as the personification of reason and compassion, plays a pompous, tight-lipped skeptic with equal skill. Ruta, with his mane of white hair and rumbling voice, could make a fortune as a magician/con man in another life. Clayton Corzatte takes a delightful comic turn as Calogero’s long-suffering servant.

One can’t deny the comedy is often funny, the tragedy affecting and the play’s more fanciful moments intriguing. But somehow, all together, the pieces feel out of balance. Whether “Grand Magic” needs a heavier treatment or lighter (or both, or neither) is hard to say. But as it is, it leaves us more puzzled than enchanted.

Jump to Comments

Grand Magic

A Contemporary Theater, Seattle; 390 Seats; $42 Top

  • Production: A Contemporary Theater presentation of a play in three acts by Eduardo de Filippo. Directed by Mladen Kiselov.
  • Crew: Sets, Narelle Sissons; costumes, Marcia Dixcy Jory; lighting, Chris Parry; music and sound, John Gromada; magic effects, Steffan Soule; dramaturg, Kurt Beattie. Opened, reviewed Oct. 26, 2001. Running time: 3 HOURS.
  • Cast: Signora Locascio/Rosa Intrugli - Laura Kenny Signora Zampa/Mathilde Di Spelta - Beth Andrisevic Marta Di Spelta - Mari Nelson Calogero Di Spelta - John Procaccino Mariano D'Albino/Roberto Magliano - Paul Morgan Stetler Waiter/Oreste Intrugli - Peter A. Jacobs Gervasio Penna/Gennarino Fucecchio - Clayton Corzatte Arturo Recchia - Richard Ziman Amelia Recchia - Winslow Corbett Otto Marvuglia - Ken Ruta Mariannina "Zaira" Marvuglia - Marianne Owen Police Inspector/Gregorio Di Spelta - David Pichette

More from Variety

Most Popular

Must Read

Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Variety Confidential

A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast

ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXF9jqWcoKGkZL%2Bmwsierqxnl6eur7CMppigoZNifnN8j25sa29gaXw%3D

Reinaldo Massengill

Update: 2024-05-27

<< Katy Perry Headbangs Her Hair Extensions Out on American Idol

Argentina U23 starting eleven against Peru in pre-Olympics >>