By David Gordon

Midway through Edward Elefterion and the Drama Department’s fascinating production of August Strindberg’s “The Ghost Sonata,” there’s the disturbing image of four weary people, destroyed by the perils and tribulations of lives unlived, staring at us: an old man with hidden motives who desperately wants to belong, a mummified woman, a duped colonel and a locked-up woman. You looked at this portrait of unhappiness and suddenly wish to turn back from this horror of a nursing home. But you couldn’t.

“The Ghost Sonata,” considered to be “impossible” to stage because of its large scope, is one of Strindberg’s three best-known works (the other two being “Miss Julie” and “The Dance of Death”). It deals with themes of loneliness, betrayal, and figurative vampirism. Years ago, the Old Man, you see, has sucked the lifeblood from these people’s lives. And he tries valiantly to do so to the young, na’ve Student, a hero in the mind of the townspeople after saving people from a building collapse. Yet he also tries to arrange a relationship between the Student and a young woman, the daughter of this general and the mummy of a woman, or so we think.

Jeremy Benson played the Old Man, delivering a rather uncharacteristically demure performance. No, he doesn’t always project elderly, but, whether he’s playing the King of Denmark, a Brooklyn longshoreman or a Southern racist, he’s commanding and mesmerizing. Chelsea Frati is a chameleon of an actress and her characterization of the Mummy is remarkably fully rounded for a second-year acting student. From voice to movement, Frati lost herself within this character. Her performance showcased a mastery of skills that has only been seen thus far in seniors, not sophomores.

The rest of the cast was quite strong, as well, including Michael Quattrone’s Student and Reb Powers’ massive Chef who, like the Old Man, sucks the lifeblood from Lauren Hamyl’s Young Lady and her family. And then there ere the actors who have don’t speak, just appear in Pei-Chi Su’s beautiful costumes: the haunting Beth Tangley and others.

Elefterion’s staging was very fluid and engaging, performed for the most part in real time, with a working grandfather clock and a looming tick-tock (sound design by David Henderson) punctuating the fleeting nature of this thing called time. Rychard Curtiss’ lighting provided the right amount of spook and, using footlights, very well accentuated the ghost-white make-up the actors wore. Sarah Reeb’s set was a bit too immaculate.

“The Ghost Sonata” proved not to be impossible, after all. And it, along with last fall’s production of Luis Alfaro’s “Electricidad,” and Robert David MacDonald’s “Camille” before it, shows a trend building. The Drama Department is moving towards more daring, challenging works. Let’s hope this continues.