New troupe offers magic of ‘Bell, Book and Candle’

• Reprints

Bato Prostran and Jillann Gabrielle in "Bell, Book and Candle."

Updated: February 3, 2012 9:48AM

Paradise Playhouse brings a bewitching tale tricks and treats to Oak Park with its production of the rarely produced “Bell, Book, and Candle” by John Van Druten at Open Door Theatre February 10-26.

“It’s a great show,” said director Jim Leonard. “For a lot of people this is going to be a new experience. It’s going to be like seeing a brand new show, which is nice. It’s something they’re not used to seeing.”

The story takes place in 1950s New York City and follows Gillian Holroyd, who happens to be a witch. She’s a thoroughly modern one but not averse to using that old black, or at least gray, magic.

Casting spells

When she meets publisher Shep Henderson, she’s taken with him. But he’s taken – set to marry her old college rival. She casts a spell on Shep, but things become complicated when her aunt, and brother, also magical, summon a wacky witchcraft author. There’s also some inconvenient conflict between love and the black arts. All in all, it is a comedy and just a drop of drama.

The cast for this show, the company’s second, includes: Leonard, an Oak Park native now living in Chicago’s Galewood neighborhood, Jillann Gabrielle of Galewood, Bato Prostran from Chicago, Dee Norman of Oak Park, and Park Ridge’s David Bontumasi.

“It’s a lot of fun to work with good actors who enjoy that play and that fun and the script allows you to do it,” said Bontumasi. “It’s a great deal of fun for that small of a cast.”

Although “Bell, Book and Candle” may seem new to viewers, it originally opened on Broadway in 1950 starring Lili Palmer and Rex Harrison. In 1958, the movie version starred Kim Novak, Jimmy Stewart, Jack Lemmon, Elsa Lancaster and Ernie Kovacs. The story also inspired the 1960s television sitcom, “Bewitched.”

“It’s this magic and imagination and then love wins out,” said Gabrielle, who is also Paradise Playhouse’s artistic director, producer and designer. “It’s really cute and it pulls on your heart strings because you want them to be together. You know they really love each other, but there’s always the trials and tribulations in between. It’s a really fun show. Everybody loves magic.

The company found that the 1950 script stands up well.

Smart play

“It’s a lot smarter than a normal ’50s play is often perceived,” said Bontumasi, who plays Nicky Holroyd, Gillian’s warlock brother. “It’s a smart little script. This is a play that makes you think, it’s a play that makes you feel, and a play that’s enjoyable. I think it’s intriguing to take a look at magic, and to take a look at witches, and to take a look at that idea in a retrospective perspective.”

Gabrielle, in therole of Gillian, relates to her character. Gabrielle describes herself as an energy expert, making things happen with positive thoughts and the love she sends, rather like Gillian’s magic. The role also allows her to expand, because she usually plays more domineering roles that reflect her strong personality.

“It was so good for me to have to do this,” she said. “That’s part of why I started this company because I wanted to expand and I wanted to challenge myself, rather than always be cast in the same kind of roles. It develops my acting skills and it just helps me as a person to expand and to get in touch with that other side of myself, because everybody does have two major sides.”

Bontumasi says his character is something of a catalyst throughout the show, a bit immature and likes to have fun with his magic. “It’s a fun play, a fun role, and it’s fun to do,” he said. “It’s fun to let loose in that way because he doesn’t have a lot of boundaries. He kind of just does what he wants to do when he wants to do it and kind of rolls with it and I don’t do that.”

Bontumasi said he’d like the audience “to come away with a little bit of insight. Hopefully they’re a little smarter and a little happier than they were two hours before. I’d like it to be an enjoyable evening for folks and I think it will be.”