Bean, Mills Give Substance to ‘Candida’

The chemistry between real-life marrieds Orson Bean and Alley Mills is palpable as they play the married couple in Michael Rothhaar’s staging of George Bernard Shaw’s “Candida” at Pacific Resident Theatre.

Bean plays the socialist parson who loses most of his glib self-confidence when the young poet Marchbanks (Alexander Enberg) declares that he’s in love with the parson’s wife. The shattering loss of security is evident on Bean’s previously glowing features. Mills is convincingly lustrous as the title character adored by both men.

The genuine quality of their interactions helps compensate for the fact that Bean is about 30 years older than the character Shaw had in mind. Still, the ages can’t be completely ignored. The dynamic among the three main characters presumably would be somewhat different if the parson were closer in age to his wife.

Enberg’s Marchbanks looks like an easily wounded puppy, but he projects the character’s candor and emotional bravado without flinching. The supporting roles are perfectly fine-tuned: Paula Malcomson’s snippy secretary (though, again, because of the casting, it’s a stretch to imagine that this character is secretly in love with her father-figure employer), Terrence Beasor’s gruff capitalist and Jaxon Duff Gwillim’s young curate.

John Binkley’s intimate set is beautifully lit by Jill Proctor. However, this “Candida” isn’t in the same league as last year’s Shaw in this same space--”Mrs. Warren’s Profession,” also directed by Rothhaar. That one dazzled; this one is quietly fascinating while it lasts, but the play seems a bit contrived after it’s over.

* “Candida,” Pacific Resident Theatre, 705 1/2 Venice Blvd., Venice. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Ends June 7. $18. (213) 660-8587. Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes.