Bruce R. Coleman prepares for HAUNTED Debut at Our Productions

Our Productions Theatre Co. announces the exciting presentation of a new script, Haunted, by award winning Dallas Playwright Bruce R. Coleman, coming to the MCL Grand in October of 2017.

Haunted revolves around Barry, who has been living in the shadow of his parents murder for 30 years. Now at a breaking point, Barry and his partner Kevin travel to the scene of the crime, the once glamorous La Hacienda Hotel in Austin, Texas. There, along with an Evangelical Psychic of dubious talents, Barry seeks a resolution to the mystery that has haunted his entire life.

Mr. Coleman's piece was one of the first scripts booked to be read at Our Productions Theatre Co.'s new Play Readers Club this past winter, taking the February slot. Play Readers Club gathered three times over the winter to allow new and classic works to be read and discussed in a book club style format. Haunted got the attention of the Our Productions Board at the reading.

"Haunted really mesmerized the group," Artistic Director Stephanie Riggs said. "The patrons and artists in attendance at Play Readers Club that night couldn't stop discussing it, and the discussion went on for more than an hour at the conclusion of the read. I am sure it didn't end there. I know the show stuck in my mind, and I wanted to do whatever I could to bring it to life for a wider audience."

Haunted is dubbed by Coleman as a "Mystery Wrapped in a Ghost Story" and will be his fourteenth play to be produced in the area after having works presented by companies including Uptown Players, Theatre Three, Upstart, Kitchen Dog, and several scripts being presented by Collin College next spring.
Coleman is an award winning playwright, whose script Daylight, a civil war drama, won the Grand Prize at the Southwest Playwriting Festival sponsored by Stage West. His script Boomer Tyro is Coming Home, was written for the Inaugural Pride Write New Play Festival at Uptown Players and won both the Grand Prize AND audience favorite.

The cast of Haunted will include Mikey Abrams, Billy Betsill, Nick Hill, Jacob Lewis, Kim Swarner, Edward Treminio, and Rafael Villegas. The production will be directed by Coleman. This mystery ghost story will be presented for the first time in the black box space at the MCL Grand located at 100 North Charles St., Lewisville, Texas. Tickets are available now at www.ourproductionstheatreco.org.

Special thanks to Our Production sponsors, The Town of Flower Mound and The City of Lewisville.

About the creation of Haunted: Coleman says, "It did start out as an idea for a screen play around three years ago. It was very ambitious in what I was trying to produce." The mystery ghost story of Haunted takes place simultaneously in 1990 and 1962. Coleman continues,"Since then, it has now become a stage play and fairly different from the original but the main mystery has stayed the same. The main storyline has solidified. This particular story has been sitting on my computer for three years. Our Productions Play Readers Club came up, and it was a good motivation to get it back up and do a second draft. I started back up in January. The rest is history." The performances will be held for a limited engagement October 26, 27, 28, 29, 2017 at the MCL Grand Black Box.
Riggs says, "The MCL Grand is now a part of a burgeoning arts district in Lewisville. The newly opened restaurants directly across the street from the center make it a destination. Enjoy a great meal, walk to the theatre, and enjoy a stroll in the beautiful flower and water gardens after the show...if you are brave enough after hearing this chilling mystery tale."

Artists in town are already getting excited behind the scenes. In fact, Coleman, has already assembled his dream cast. "I've been pretty lucky in that I write for voices and people I know - I've been pretty lucky over the years to use those people. There were five people that I had in mind when I wrote this and four are in this company of actors," says Coleman.

Joining the cast includes Billy Betsill as Barry, Nick Hill as Kevin, Edward Treminio as Paco, LisaAnne Haram as Myrna, Kim Swarner as Lois, Jacob Lewis as Kyle, Rafael Villegas as Carlos, and Mikey Abrams as Franklin.
Performances will be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and a Sunday matinee performance at 2:00 p.m., October 26-29, 2017 at the black box space of the Medical City of Lewisville Grand Theater. Tickets are $25 with a $5 discount for Seniors (55+) and Students (with ID). VIP reserved seating available for member donors. Annual Donor VIP Memberships start at $25. Donor memberships available at the web site, click 'Support.'

All other seating general admission. Handicap/wheelchair seating is available.

Tickets may be purchased at www.ourproductionstheatreco.org, or by calling the Our Productions Box Office at 972-724-2147.

To post a comment, you must register and login.