‘The Circle’ game

Young Chang

Nancy Bell calls her character in “The Circle” extraordinary.

Her name is Elizabeth. She’s the wife of a man whose mother left his

father to run off with a well-known 1920s nobleman -- sacrificing

everything for love. Elizabeth is tempted to do the same. The outcome, of

course, you’ll have to see for yourself when the Somerset Maugham play

opens Friday at South Coast Repertory.

Elizabeth is romantic, idealistic but not stupid, forthright and

cleareyed. The kind of character you’d support no matter what her

decision.

Bell says she would like to think she and Elizabeth are similar. But

she just can’t.

“Would I have been a suffragette?” the Los Angeles resident continues.

No, she admits again. When the 34-year-old actress was younger, she

thought she might’ve been. But age has brought her the clarity to know

that the suffragettes and characters like Elizabeth -- and almost all

literary female heroes -- were visionaries. And there aren’t many of

those around.

“I’m not sure if I really am that,” Bell shrugged, smiling. “But I

wish I was.”

The social satire that has been lauded as Maugham’s masterpiece --

not to mention one of the 100 most significant plays of the 20th century

-- will probably get all its viewers thinking about the provocative

questions it poses.

Questions like “Would I be extraordinary and have the guts to continue

a circle of debatable decisions? Would I do what older generations regret

having done? Would I sacrifice everything for what I wanted?”

“I think it’ll be really popular,” Bell said of SCR’s season opener.

“The thing that makes it appealing is there’s something in it for all

ages. And there aren’t enough plays with so many ages in it.”

A story about generations, and about how the more things change the

more things stay the same, “The Circle” is also a sociopolitical piece

discussing the ways of love, class and divorce in the early 20th century.

The cast includes Rebecca Dines, John Hines, William Biff McGuire,

Carole Shelley, Douglas Weston, Paxton Whitehead and Bell, a veteran SCR

presence whose credits include “The Philanderer,” “All My Sons” and

television roles on “Guiding Light,” “Mad About You” and numerous other

shows.

A set design team including Ralph Funicello has created a romantic,

Georgian house set with pale green walls that makes everyone look a rosy

pink, Bell said.

“It’s gonna be luscious to look at,” she added.

David Emmes, co-founder and co-artistic director of SCR, calls the

piece wonderful and literary yet “humorous and sensible.” A good start

for a good season.

“The Circle” will kick off a year’s lineup including Moliere’s “The

School for Wives,” the premier of Horton Foote’s Pulitzer Prize winning

“Getting Frankie Married -- And Afterwards,” and Second Stage productions

by playwrights including Annie Weisman and Lucinda Coxon.

“We seek to, as always, stimulate as well as entertain,” Emmes said.

“We certainly like to bring ideas that promote new thoughts and raise new

questions in theatrically exciting ways. We think that overall, the

season will do that.”

Beginning with the first number.

“The generational aspect of the play is timeless,” Bell said. “That’s

the thing that really endures and makes it worth doing now.”

FYI

WHAT: “The Circle”

WHEN: Sept. 7 through Oct. 7, previews began Friday. Showtimes are 8

p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 and 7:30

p.m. Sunday.

WHERE: South Coast Repertory’s Mainstage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa

Mesa

COST: $19-$52

CALL: (714) 708-5561