Review: Rebecca

THE PERFECT WIFE MEETS A CROCODILE

This autumn’s masterpiece Rebecca is a genuine melodrama

A young manor, played by Sanna Majuri , is led to Manderley, whose name is not even mentioned in the original 1938 novel by Daphne du Maurier . The youngster immediately catches sight of the manor’s hostess, Mrs. Danvers (Sari Ann Moilanen).

The previous wife and mistress of the manor, Rebecca, is already deceased, but she touched people so strongly during her life that her spirit still hovers everywhere. The hostess, who worships the dead Rebecca, turns out to be quite a crocodile, wiping the floors with a delicate youngster. The new lady should show her the place of the cupboard, but she doesn’t have the strength to do it.

The power struggle between the two women with its brilliant vocal performances is the most effective part of the performance. Behind the scenes, Rebecca’s ghost flutters as the fire support of the evil hostess, so the challenge of a pure-hearted young man marinated in unconditional love feels overwhelming.

Her past-ridden, naughty husband Maxim (Kari Arffman) is of no help to his wife. In the novel, Maxim is Rebecca’s murderer, and in Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller (1940), the suspicious Bluebeard, but in the emotional storms of the City Theatre, the aristocrat tearing his hair out and practicing salty liquorice-patterned brown slipovers is not terrifying.

The gruesome secret of the dark Manderley is the fate of Rebecca, who has disappeared into the turmoil of the sea. What happened to him, and why? The past refuses to stay in its grave, but demands complete destruction in order to redeem it.

Rebecca is a rare musical because it has the right plot. There are several dozen singing performances and they carry the story. A live orchestra and choir roar with the power that a dramatic story deserves.

The performance, which lasts more than two and a half hours, lives up to its promise. The premiere audience, dispersed from the main stage of the City Theatre to the streets, roared the Rebecca theme like a herd of elephants returning to the shadows of the jungle from a refreshing oasis.