Playwright: music and lyrics by Maury Yeston, book by Peter Stone and Thomas Meehan. At: Circle Theatre at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. Tickets: 773-327-5252; www.circle-theatre.org; $30-$32. Runs through: May 26
The popularity of death as a literary theme has not diminishedindeed, may have increased as medical advances facilitate lengthier equivocation over the hereafter. What is rarer nowadays is the Grim Reaper depicted in human form, whether the hooded specter of Medieval morality plays or the suave aristocrat of Victorian fiction, for active participation in the dramatic action. Thus, Alberto Casella's 1924 tale of necrophilic seduction can be viewed as retro even for its own time.
Our story begins with a party of summer tourists driving recklessly over the precarious mountain roads in northern Italy, causing the newly betrothed Grazia Lamberti to be thrown from the carbut when her companions rush to her aid, they find her miraculously uninjured. That same night, her father receives a demand for his hospitality and his secrecy regarding the identity of the stranger posing as "Prince Nikolai Sirki." Over the weekend, the Russian expatriate arouses the suspicions of a few house guestsa war widow, an ex-fighter pilot, a doctor and the elderly dowager who welcomes the foreigner as if expecting himto whom he appears curiously familiar. More disturbing, however, is Grazia's attraction to the handsome young bachelorattentions he does not discourage.
This grisly premise is not without its lighter momentsthe humor as the "Prince" discovers the sensory pleasures of food (and lust), for example. The score also encompasses a Charleston ditty played on the Victorola and a patter song executed by a squad of jittery servants. For the most part, though, Maury Yeston, Peter Stone and Thomas Meehan focus their skills on a seemingly endless string of operatic Puccini-meets-Sondheim ballads (with a touch of Renaissance harmonythink Bach's toccataon "Death Is in the House").
Under Elizabeth Margolius' direction, the Circle Theatre company deftly navigates the physical and acoustical realms of Stage 773's big proscenium room (the latter tending to dilute the unmiked voices and flute-fueled orchestrations in the show's first momentsa flaw quickly rectified). Nate Lewellyn and Laura McClain are an engaging pair of young lovers, but this commentary on life's twilight years is rightfully the province of its mature voicesRus Rainear, Rosalind Hurwitz, Kevin M. Grubb and Denise Tamburrino. Music being the most emotional of all the arts, their efforts make for Dark Romance to undo the coldest-hearted playgoer. Bring your hankies. Bring two. In fact, bring a dozen!