THE BROTHERS PARANORMAL Comes to the Olney Theatre Center in September

The Brothers Paranormal by Prince Gomolvilas and co-directed by Hallie Gordon and Aria Velz gets its regional premiere in Olney Theatre Center’s Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab in a production that seeks to thrill audiences with its supernatural plot elements. Previews begin Wednesday, September 27 with press invited to attend either Saturday, September 30 at 7:30 pm (limited availability) or Sunday, October 1 at 1:30 pm.

The production is scheduled to run through Sunday, October 29, 2023. Tickets are $50-$79 and are available online at olneytheatre.org/brothers or at 301-924-3400.

Playwright Prince Gomolvilas will participate in a discussion with Olney Theatre’s artistic director Jason Loewith on Saturday, September 30 at 5:00 pm in the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab. The cost is $10/free for Olney Theatre members, and will also be available as a livestream on Facebook and YouTube.

Jason Loewith says, “It’s a pleasure to welcome Prince and his funny, scary, genre-exploding drama of family and dislocation to Olney. I think our audiences in the intimate space of the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab are in for an emotional thrill ride. It’s a production of firsts for us: an overdue first production here by a Thai-American playwright; the pair of new-to-us co-directors including Aria Velz and our newest member of the Olney artistic staff, Hallie Gordon, the senior associate artistic director. While this is Hallie’s first time directing here, she comes to us with a formidable background and we’re lucky to have her, not just on this show, but as a key part of our ecosystem. It’s also the first time that I’ve chosen a show that’s just perfect for the Halloween season, so most of all, I’m excited to lean into that, and see how audiences, new and returning, respond to the work.“

About the Play

It’s 2007 somewhere in the American Midwest, and Thai-American brothers Max (Tommy Bo) and Visarut (Eymard Cabling) haven’t had a single case for their paranormal investigation business since they opened. Finally, a customer arrives, Delia (Lolita Marie), a Black woman who has relocated to the area after losing her home in Hurricane Katrina. She’s seen a female, perhaps Asian, maybe Thai-speaking ghost (played by Justine “Icy” Moral) haunting her house for reasons unknown. Max, who doesn’t believe in ghosts, is most excited to sign her up for a deluxe investigation package. But when the brothers visit Delia and her husband Felix (DeJeanette Horne), strange things begin to happen. The play also features Cindy Chang as Tasanee, Max and Visarut’s immigrant mother, and a link to the home left behind in Thailand.

Joey Ledonio (Max and Visarut) and Sally Imbriano (Jai and Tasanee) serve as swings, and Terresita Edwards is the understudy for Delia.

Joining directors Hallie Gordon and Aria Velz are set designer Misha Kachman, costume designer Jeanette Christensen, lighting designer Minjoo Kim, sound designer Sarah O’Halloran, Illusions Consultant Jim Steinmeyer, Illusions Instructor Robert Ramirez, and production stage manager Ben Walsh.

Prince Gomolvilas (Playwright) is a Thai-American playwright whose plays include Big Hunk o’ Burnin’ Love, a groundbreaking comedy about a Thai-American family; The Theory of Everything, which won a PEN Center USA Literary Award for Drama; Mysterious Skin, a stage adaptation of the Scott Heim novel; and The Brothers Paranormal, a critically acclaimed ghost story that’s been produced across the country and published by Dramatic Publishing. His work has also been performed in Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, Singapore, and Thailand. His theatre-for-youth shows have been touring elementary, middle, and high schools for nearly 20 years. He is a former Assistant Professor of Writing at the University of Southern California, and he received an MFA in Playwriting from San Francisco State University. Visit www.princegomolvilas.com to watch his TEDx Talk and learn more.

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