Review: Utah State’s hauntingly beautiful “Ghosts!” leaves viewers hanging on every word
Jan. 28, 2022 debuted Utah State University’s reading series of the portrayal of Henrik Ibsen’s “Ghosts!” directed by USU’s theatre arts professor, Leslie Brott.
“Ghosts!” follows the story of Helene Alving portrayed by USU student Kaija Strong who has spent her life suspended in an emotional void after the death of her cruel but outwardly charming husband. She is determined to escape the ghosts of her past by telling her son, Oswald – played by Utah State’s Ryan Adams – the truth about his father. But on his return from his life as a painter in France, Oswald reveals how he has already inherited the legacy of Alving’s dissolute life.
In this haunting new reading series, the audience is able to watch complex conversations about the meaning and importance of life and the connections one makes with those around them.
“’Ghosts!’ continues to ask relevant questions about cultural corruption and disease that rot a society from the inside out,” said Brott. “It challenges the audience to get outside of themselves and question society around them.”
Questioning challenging topics such as substance abuse, incest and euthanasia – this beautiful Utah State adaptation caused many audience members to seek greater understanding of their environment and society.
“My family and I love coming to the Caine college and seeing what fun productions they put on,” Torin Patricks, Utah State theatre arts graduate, said.
“My wife and I especially loved this play, the actors did an excellent job at making something fairly haunting, really beautiful and fun to watch,” Patrick said. “The reading discussed topics I had not thought very much about and it was an enjoyable experience to get outside of myself and really learn about the vastness of the human experience.”
“I was shocked by it being a reading series instead of an acted out play, yet I was pleasantly surprised,” Teresa King, Utah State’s theatre department advocate said. “The play was still a lot of fun and the fact that it wasn’t acted out made me really pay attention to the facial expressions of tones of the six students. I was really impressed with their high level of skill.”
Needless to say, King enjoyed the reading.
“Yet, apart for the theatrics, the message behind the reading was really beautiful, while also being fairly controversial and difficult – it made me question my sphere of self and culture,” King said.
According to Brott the interpretation has some raunchy themes.
“Frequently considered scandalous, Ibsen examined social and cultural questions from outside the realm of polite society,” Brott said. “His subjects ranged from religious hypocrisy, women’s rights, sexually transmitted diseases, domestic abuse, incest, Bohemianism, and euthanasia.”
“I was left with a message to think about when the play finished and that is why I loved watching it so much,” Kimberly Cerdist, Utah State mechanical engineering graduate said. “I would suggest anyone, student or otherwise, to come and see it.”
Though the reading series is now over, Aggies and Logan residents are excited to see what Brott will direct next and how USU theatre students will make it their own.