San Diego Repertory Theatre’s Sam Woodhouse and local playwright Allan Havis have teamed up to create a new addition to ghostly folklore with their world premiere of Restless Spirits. As part of The Rep’s series that explores the relationship between San Diego and Tijuana, this ghost story straddles the two areas while also delving into the supernatural mythologies of Somalia and Asia. The result is an educational, spiritually intriguing, and sometimes creepy tale suited especially to those who have a fascination with the supernatural and enjoy theatre that is a bit bizarre.

The show stars Rep regular Karole Foreman as Jessie Gordon – a woman just about forty who is struggling to write a Ph.D. dissertation about ghosts that doesn’t sound too sensational, all while talking to the spirit of her late father, beginning a romance with a man living in between the dead and the living, dealing with her opinionated and advice-filled mom while waiting to dine at local IHOPs, using her gift of shining to help her mom’s boyfriend and an elderly Somali man find peace with dead family members, and battling an evil demon called a Toyol attacking her through the evil human she is trying to interview for her thesis – David Winchester, the incarcerated murderer of Danielle Van Dam.

Yes, she’s a busy woman, and it’s a busy play with many subplots, some of which seem to be there more because of the playwright’s research than because it’s necessary for the plot. Some whittling could help the story keep its focus. Nevertheless, they pull it off fairly well. Karole Foreman certainly deserves a great deal of the credit for that, giving Jessie Gordon a realistic and very likeable personality in the midst of the remarkable, if not unbelievable, events happening around her (and through her).

Sylvia M’Lafi Thompson injects some humor as Jessie’s overly helpful mom. Raul Cardona and Kinan Valdez play the boyfriends of the mother and daughter respectively who are battling internal demons of their own. Wendell W. Wright is the ghost of Jessie’s father who fears for his daughter’s safety as she pursues the same spiritual dangers he did, and possibly to the same terrible end. April Doctolero is an odd, youthful update to Karate Kid’s Mr. Miagi. The haunting ghost of murdered Chantelle Van Buren (Bibi Valderrama) reminds us all of the seriousness of the subject matter while reminding Jessie of her own molestation at the hands of her uncle. And Jim Chovick has moments of tremendous creepiness as convicted murderer David Winchester who, from his cell, is trying to cajole the soul of young and innocent Samantha Shepard (Zoe Eprile) and preparing Jessie’s Toyol for their final confrontation.

Performs through February 19, 2006.

Rob Hopper
San Diego Playbill