Stoneham Theatre Presents GASLIGHT Through 6.13

Stoneham Theatre presents Gaslight; directed by Weylin Symes and featuring Marianna Bassham and Robert Serrell. Performances run from May 27 through June 13: Thurs. (7:30 pm), Fri. (8 pm), Sat. (4 pm & 8 pm), Sun. (2 pm). Tickets: $38-$44 regular admission, $34-40 for seniors, $20 for students; with student/senior discount matinees available. [Special pay what you can performance on Thurs., May 27.] Stoneham Theatre. 395 Main Street, Stoneham. Wheelchair accessible. For advance tickets and information, visit or call the Box Office at 781-279-2200 (hours Tues.-Sat., 1-6pm) or log onto www.stonehamtheatre.org.

Bella Manningham worries that her husband may be right when he says she's going mad. But on one eventful night, a mysterious stranger arrives and Bella begins to understand the truth behind the disappearing pictures, mysteriously dimming lights, and haunting footsteps from above. Immortalized in a 1944 film treatment starring Ingrid Bergman, Patrick Hamilton's chamber mystery (c1938, known as Angel Street in the U.S.) is a thrilling twisty and twisted portrait of a late Victorian London marriage.

Weylin Symes, Producing Artistic Director of Stoneham Theatre, directs this classic case of complete deception, with a plot laden with carefully crafted illusions which have been maintained throughout a 5-year marital relationship. Unparalleled with any known actual experiences at the time it was written and later filmed, Gaslight is an eerie forecast of how just a title alone can perfectly describe numerous present day relationships. Witness how spectacularly a marriage can fail in Victorian London! And how equally spectacular they fail worldwide in 2010! [An ongoing conversation where theatre patrons have admitted to gaslighting their spouses has begun at www.stonehamtheatre.org/gaslight.html.]

Award winning Marianna Bassham steps into the shoes of Bella Manningham while Robert Serrell portrays her less than amiable consort Jack Manningham. Serrell returns to Stoneham Theatre following his terrifying portrayal of Robert Bruno in last year's acclaimed Strangers On A Train, which was also directed by Symes and received an IRNE award for best sound design. The lead characters are supported by Christopher Webb as Inspector Rough, Angie Jepson as Nancy, Dee Nelson as Elizabeth, and Ian O'Connor as the policeman. The artistic team is rounded out by Jeff Adelberg (Lighting Designer), Gail Astrid Buckley (Costume Designer), Katy Monthei (Set Designer), David Reiffel (Sound Designer), and Julie Tidemand (Props Master).

Stoneham Theatre, a professionally producing regional theatre, is the only company founded within the past ten years ranked by the Boston Business Journal among the area's ten most popular performing arts organization. It is consistently praised by critics and audiences for its superior caliber of production, its connection to the communities it serves and its comfortable atmosphere. Visit www.stonehamtheatre.org.

Coming up next as Stoneham Theatre Special Events:
"The Edwards Twins"; featuring twin brothers Anthony and Eddie Edwards, impersonators of the stars.
Runs June 18-20, 2010.
For details, www.stonehamtheatre.org/events.html.
AND,
"Always ... Patsy Cline"; created by Ted Swindley and starring Becky Barta.
Runs July 8-25, 2010.
For details, www.stonehamtheatre.org/patsycline09.html

Stoneham Theatre is also home to the Atelier Gallery, a satellite gallery of the Griffin Museum of Photography, showcasing fine art photography. The exhibition Doris: photographs by Heather McDonough will be on display from May 17-June 29, running concurrently with Gaslight, with an opening reception held the week before the run on May 20th, 6-7:30 pm. British photographer McDonough lived across the street from Doris and got to know the elderly woman briefly when she went into her home to take her portrait. For more information on the exhibition schedule, log onto www.griffinmuseum.org/exhibitions_atelier.htm. The Atelier Gallery at Stoneham Theatre is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 1-6 p.m., and one hour before each theater performance. The gallery can be accessed through the theatre's lobby; free and open to all.

 

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