Halloween night. Visiting Chicago. What to do? How about Bewildered? The show is described as “a bewitching new musical?” Some readers may (fondly) remember the television sitcom Bewitched. Essential plot data: Samatha Stevens is a witch married to Darren, a mortal, who works in advertising and does not want his wife to use her magical skills in suburbia. Toss in a slew of memorable, oddball characters and let the nose twitching begin.
One of the great mothers-in-law of all time was Endora. Here she is (naturally) played in drag by Hell in a Handbag’s Artistic Director David Cerda. The premise of Bewildered is to consider the Bewitched experience through the eyes of the Stevens’ noisy neighbor Gladys Kravitz (Caitlin Jackson, excellent). As musical spoofs and high camp require, there is plenty of material to work with: Paul Lynde as Uncle Arthur, the two different actors who played Darren, daughter Tabitha and her not often seen younger brother Adam. Each of these were funny bits but overused.
Conceptually the show is a great idea but the jokes (and characters) wear thin. So much more material could have and should have been skewered here. Samantha was nicely played by Elizabeth Morgan but she was not given enough to do. The evil twin sister Serena perhaps? Two actresses won supporting Emmy Awards for Bewitched, one was Alice Pearce, as Gladys Kravitz. The other was Marion Lorne, unforgettable as Aunt Clara, mistakenly not included here. (Interesting fact: both of these actresses won their Emmy posthumously. A camp moment?) Darren’s boss, Mr. Tate, was represented and his wife Louise (Robert Williams) was hilariously portrayed as an alcoholic, vodka chugging Louise Jefferson.
And on Halloween, shouldn’t we have had a little Alice Ghostley? Esmerelda was a bumbling incompetent witch who may have added needed goofiness. Overall I’d describe Bewildered as an underdeveloped sketch with so-so music. (The bar for drag entertainment is significantly higher these days.) Kudos to Roger Wykes for the effective scenic design on a budget. The office, the house, the backyard, and the kitchen all were cleverly executed by the ensemble, simply called “Magic Stage Hands.”
In 2005, Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell attempted a movie remake which the New York Times called “an unmitigated disaster.” With Bewitched, there is so much ripe material. With Bewildered, there is so much opportunity missed.