by TOM WELCH

Special to the Sounder

A warm, inviting set with excellent lighting and sound are the perfect accompaniments to Tony Lee’s virtuoso performance as Albert Einstein in Doug Bechtel’s new play now running at the Grange. The study of a modest suburban New Jersey home seems oddly perfect as the venue for “Albert Einstein: A Stage Portrait,” by Willard Simms. Offering glimpses of the “human” side of a figure of almost-mythic proportion to most, Lee uses his wonderfully rich, warm voice and talent for accent to bring Einstein to life. It didn’t take any of us long to believe that Einstein was standing right there, on stage at the Grange, joking and kidding with us as though we were in his own home.

Bechtel’s casting, direction, set and sound design are superb, as we’ve come to expect, with amazing support from Cele Westlake, Patty Monaco, Vince Monaco, and others. All worked perfectly as Lee held us in thrall to the wonders of science, the tragedy of the Nazi era that forced him to leave Germany, life in Princeton, and his anguish over the legacy of the atomic age.

“Albert Einstein” is at the Grange on July 13, 14, 15 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 at Darvill’s or at the door.