'Ghosts' review — Lily Rabe soars in this classic Ibsen drama
Read our review of Ghosts off Broadway, Mark O'Rowe's adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's play starring Lily Rabe, Billy Crudup, and more at Lincoln Center Theater.
Although Jack O’Brien’s direction and Japhy Weideman’s lighting bring atmosphere to the play, the burdens of the past in Ghosts, Henrik Ibsen's drama newly adapted by Mark O'Rowe, feel paper-light. At least Lily Rabe’s formidable widow Helena anchors Ghosts in its themes of control, and she floats above all else in the production. We feel her rapport with Billy Crudup’s Pastor Manders, with whom she shares the first of multiple dark secrets that arise throughout the play. They talk comfortably as old friends, though there’s a deeper attraction that once brewed between them, leaving them haunted with what could have been.
Hamish Linklater’s go-for-broke performance as Engstrand, a crass sailor, may border on caricaturish, but when calling upon the character’s altruism, he balances internalized shame and his virtues with grace. He’s an effective foil to the pastor, who goes through a succession of humbling incidents.
The more lacking performances undo Ghosts. While not as affecting as the more senior actors, Levon Hawke at least sufficiently indicates that Oswald, Helena’s son, carries a secret that has long altered his perspective before the events of the play. However, Ella Beatty’s cardboard performance as the maid Regina flattens pivotal developments, draining the complicated emotions from interactions between Regina and her father and from her clandestine romance with Oswald.
Ghosts ask how deep you can bury unpleasant truths before they fester into —perhaps fatalist — despair. How much does holding back a family secret make you an accomplice to your and your loved ones’ misery? Unfortunately, Ghosts struggles to sink hooks into those questions, even as it crawls toward its chilling, inconclusive end.
Ghosts summary
Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts premiered in 1882. The play is set in the Norway household of the widow Helena, who is founding an orphanage as a memorial to her late husband. Soon, she finds herself confronting his debauched past, which haunts her and her son, Oswald, with unpredictable consequences. Oswald’s courtship with the maid Regina piles onto these complications. Every character strives for control, and every revelation unravels their sense of security.
What to expect at Ghosts
O'Brien's production adopts an interesting but underdeveloped meta framing device where the first two actors rehearse with their scripts before transitioning fully into the play, and all have scripts in their laps at curtain call. Linklater also wraps a wooden block around his foot to indicate getting into character, a performative choice that feels somewhat ableist.
Jess Goldstein’s costumes suggest a modern setting, while Japhy Weideman’s lighting exudes a Gothic-lite atmosphere. John Lee Beatty’s scenic design of Ghosts is on the formulaic side.
While unabridged productions of Ibsen's original Ghosts can run over 2 hours, this production runs 1 hour and 40 minutes with no intermission.
What audiences are saying about Ghosts
As of now, Ghosts has a 72% audience approval score on the review aggregator Show-Score based on 26 audience ratings. Members' thoughts indicated that the play is "absorbing" while also "confusing."
- Show-Score user BwayBaby calls the play a "great story that explores themes that are still relevant. Felt engaged throughout."
- Joseph B 7 found the play to be an "absorbing intermission-less" piece of theatre, finding the final act "beautifully acted and directed."
- “Overall I enjoyed the play. It was slow going at first, which happens, but once we were let in on the secret[s], it got going for me.” - My +1 at the show
Read more audience reviews of Ghosts on Show-Score.
Who should see Ghosts
- Those interested in the work of playwright Henrik Ibsen (like An Enemy of the People and A Doll's House, both recently on Broadway) will be interested in Ghosts. It shares commonalities with A Doll’s House, both starring a woman challenging the faux stability and dogmatic morals attached to marriage.
- Fans of Lily Rabe will drink in her headstrong performance, which turns heartbreaking in the final minutes.
- Fans of well-known actors like Hamish Linklater (The New Adventures of Old Christine) and Billy Crudup (The Morning Show) will appreciate their performances.
- Regular theatregoers may be drawn to the work of the prolific Jack O’Brien, known for directing Hairspray and this past fall's The Roommate.
Learn more about Ghosts off Broadway
Miscasting leaves Ghosts wandering, with Lily Rabe being a bright redeeming factor of the production.
Photo credit: Ghosts off Broadway. (Photos by Jeremy Daniel)
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