Before there was “Bewitched” there was “Bell, Book & Candle.” It premiered on Broadway in 1950 before becoming the 1958 film starring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak.
The story is centered around a young witch named Gillian Holroyd who casts a spell over her unattached tenant. But if she chooses a normal life with a mortal, Gillian will be excommunicated from a life of sorcery and spells since witches cannot fall in love.
While the play may seem Halloween-themed, it’s actually a Christmas story that opens on Christmas Eve in Greenwich Village.
The play runs through Nov. 1.
MORE INFORMATION:
In 1950s New York, a young witch named Gillian Holroyd secretly performs feats of the supernatural. She casts a spell over her unattached tenant, Shepherd, partly to keep him away from a rival and partly because she is attracted to him. Shepherd falls head over heels in love with her at once and wants to marry her. Unfortunately, witches cannot fall in love, and this minute imperfection leads to a number of difficulties. Ultimately, Gillian must choose between her companions in witchery and a “normal’ life of human love with Shepherd.
“Bell, Book & Candle” premiered on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Nov. 4, 1950. Directed by John Van Druten, who also wrote the play, the production starred Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer.
A 1952-53 national tour followed the Broadway run, starring Rosalind Russell, followed by Joan Bennett. A West End production at London’s Phoenix Theatre opened on Oct. 5, 1954, starring Rex Harrison.
Richard Quine directed the 1958 film adaptation, which also starred Jack Lemmon, Ernie Kovacs, Elsa Lanchester and Hermione Gingold.
Sandwiched between the end of World War II and the Cold War, the story fathoms subcultures engaged in activities outside the cultural norms at the dawn of McCarthyism, states Director Susana Falcon.
“[It was a time] when suspicion escalated at the slightest hint of deception among friends and neighbors,” observed Falcon. “Van Druten meets this encroaching trend with humor and warmth when he depicts the Holroyd clan, whose habits reach beyond socially acceptable mores.”
Falcon said that she fell under the spell of the play’s “beautiful protagonist, Gillian Holroyd [who], longing for a change in a successful but empty existence, wonders if mundane relationships with normal humans might fill the void in her life.”
As mentioned, “Bell, Book & Candle” is considered a Christmas story. The Yuletide season provides a cozy backdrop for this complex comedy about a woman sorting out if she wants to keep an urban, exotic, single life or settle into the wedded countryside of the Christmas carols.
The 1960s television series “Bewitched” drew major inspiration from both the play and the film. Creator Sol Saks also drew inspiration from the 1942 movie “I Married a Witch.” However, “Bell, Book & Candle” provided key concepts and character parallels for the sitcom starring Elizabeth Montgomery as both stories feature a glamorous, modern witch who uses a spell on an ordinary mortal man, only to genuinely fall in love with him.
Columbia Pictures produced the 1958 film, and its subsidiary, Screen Gems, later produced “Bewitched.”
The cast
Megan Hendrick plays the part of Gillian Holroyd with a beguiling blend of allure, reserve and poise. She’s a woman clearly in command of formidable powers which she exercises in a deliberate and considered manner … until she doesn’t. Hendrick previously appeared at Lemon Bay Playhouse in “Spreading it Around” and “Now and Then.” Other stage credits include “Emma,” “The Amish Project” and Syncopation,” all at Venice Theatre.
Joseph Giglia plays the role of Gillian’s tenant and love interest, Shep. He has been performing in community theater for 25 years. He was last seen at Lemon Bay Playhouse as Dwayne in “Sleeping Indoors,” Larry in “Dinner at the Flemmings” and Johnny Bubbles in “The Psychic.” Other stage credits include “Ragtime,” “Sound of Music,” “The Full Monty,” “South Pacific,” “1776,” “My Fair Lady” and “Annie” at Venice Theatre.
Playing the part of Gillian’s Aunt Quennie is Linda Ramzell. She most recently portrayed Charlotte Sanders in Lemon Bay Playhouse’s production of “Theatre People.” Other Lemon Bay Playhouse credits include “Pie in the Sky,” “Spreading It Around” and “Art of Murder.” Other credits include “The Learned Ladies” at Venice Theatre, “Dogwood Winter” at Cultural Park Theatre in Cape Coral, and “Candide,” “Macbeth” (Lady M), “The Tempest,” “Blithe Spirit,” “The Sisters Rosensweig,” Edward Albee’s “The Goat” and Martha in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Ramzell is a longstanding member of AEA/SAG-AFTRA.
Jill Houghton plays Gillian’s sister, Nicky. Houghton has appeared in Shakespeare, modern comedies and original community theater productions in St. Louis and along the Gulf Coast. She is also an award-winning Toastmaster and experienced public speaker.
Randy Huft appears in the role of writer Redlitch. Huft has appeared in productions nationwide, including “Othello,” “The Odd Couple,” “Rounding Third,” “Lost in Yonkers,” “The Prisoner of Second Avenue,” “Our Town,” “Cyrano de Bergerac,” “Dial M for Murder,” “ “Lonely Planet,” “Once Upon a Mattress,” “A Nice Family Gathering,” the world premiere of “The Quote” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” He has also written and directed hundreds of television commercials and authored several books and screenplays.
The director
Susana Falcon directs. Pyewacket assistant directs.
A former member of AEA and SAG, Falcon has acted in feature films and commercials, Off-Broadway productions, regional and dinner theatre, and musical tours throughout Europe and on cruise ships. As an author, she has 20 works of fiction published by Amber Quill Press, along with one self-published book available on Amazon.
For six years, she taught various writing and literary courses at State College of Florida, including screenwriting.
Her directing credits include “Pie in the Sky” at Lemon Bay Playhouse last year and “Theatre Odyssey” in Sarasota.
Source of the phrase
"Bell, book and candle" is a phrase from the Roman Catholic ritual for excommunication that is sometimes used to denote a witch or witchcraft. Excommunication, or exclusion from the religious fellowship of the church, represents a condemnation to spiritual darkness, with repercussions in society. The excommunicated becomes an outcast in secular as well as religious life.
The ritual is the equivalent of a curse and involves a bell, the holy book and a candle or candles. The priest reads the following sentence:
"We exclude him from the bosom of our Holy Mother the Church, and we judge him condemned to eternal fire with Satan and his angels and all the reprobate, so long as he will not burst the fetters of the Demon, do penance and satisfy the Church."
The priest then closes the book, rings a bell — a symbolic toll for death — extinguishes the candle and throws it down, which symbolizes the removal of the victim’s soul from the sight of God.
The phrase “bell, book and candle” became associated with witches because the church believed them to be Devil-worshippers who should be excommunicated.
Since turnabout is fair play, the phrase is used in the context of the play to signify that if Gillian chooses a life with Shepard, she will be excommunicated from the supernatural society of witches and warlocks … bell, book and candle.
Now in its 39th season, Lemon Bay Playhouse is at 96 W Dearborn Street, Englewood.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
