Playwright Graham Percy explores love and friendship as well as art and madness in Brightest Red to Blue. Loosely based on the life of nineteenth century poet and artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the story is both eerie and witty—-The Corpse Bride meets Blithe Spirit. Jeremy Webb as the tortured and bitter Rossetti plays well off John Beale’s delightfully perverse Swinburne, and Lisa Rose Snow is solid as Rossetti’s lusty mistress (although she seems oddly misshapen in her “fat suit”). Set designer Andrew Cull does a spectacular job transforming the North Street Church into a mist-filled Victorian graveyard, complete with a solidly-built wall that stands up to the abuse it takes as the actors energetically scale it. The original music by Jon Landry is lovely and haunting, particularly when sung by Jamie Konchak in a delightful turn as Rossetti’s ghostly wife.
This article appears in May 26 – Jun 1, 2011.