The Minister’s Black Veil

Reviewed by Rebecca Haithcoat

When an author writes a book so famous it becomes a fixture on every high school English Lit class’ syllabus, it’s easy to overlook the rest of his work. So it is with Nathaniel Hawthorne —sure, a teacher here and there might throw in one of his short stories for context, but Hawthorne is pretty much known solely for The Scarlet Letter.

Though more recent, mostly set in New England and, of course, written in story form instead of play, Hawthorne’s work, like Shakespeare’s, is characterized by moral dilemmas and dark psychological matters. Like Shakespeare, Hawthorne has proven to be fine fodder for a spiffy modern update (see Easy A, the 2010 comedy loosely inspired by The Scarlet Letter).

But if Timothy Sprague’s current adaptation of Hawthorne’s short story “The Minister’s Black Veil” is any indication, unlike Shakespeare, Hawthorne’s stories don’t seem to be as successful when given classic treatments. The result is woefully out of touch and, through no fault of the cast or director Laura Lee Bahr, just plain boring.

One Sunday morning, Reverend Hooper arrives to church with a black veil over his face. He gives no explanation, and his troubled parishioners finally prod his fiancée into asking him why the sudden accessory. He won’t reveal why he has taken to wearing it, but he does tell her he has no intention of ever removing it. His spiritual power has never seemed stronger, but he has placed a wall between himself and the rest of the world.

With a contemporary take, the play could have made an impact. After all, we live in a society rife with secrets and their divisive nature (Google “Heartbleed”). Even a small tweak, like placing the same story in this decade, might have helped bridge the gap. But in playing it literally by the book, Sprague creates too much distance between the moral and a modern audience—especially an audience not in the Bible Belt.

The Eclectic Company Theatre, 5312 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Valley Village; Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 7 p.m.; thru May 18; (818) 508-3003. eclecticcompanytheatre.org