Penelope Haunts Twice This Halloween in Madison

Two chilling stories sharing the same name are the subject of Falconbridge Players' Halloween 2023 presentation at Arts + Literature Laboratory, when the unique program Penelope Haunts Twice is performed at 7 PM at 111 S. Livingston St. in Madison. This is the third Halloween seasonal presentation by Falconbridge, following 2019's The Upper Berth and 2021's That Dead Men Rise Up Never.

The presentation consists of dramatic performances of two short stories:

"The Lady Penelope" by Thomas Hardy: Three men love the Lady Penelope. Seemingly in jest, she declares that she might marry them all in turn. When her first husband dies and her second falls ill, those who once laughed at her quip must now wonder: did she speak a curse into being? Or is she actively pushing them to the grave? First anthologized in A Group Of Noble Dames by Hardy, best known for Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure.

"Penelope" by Vincent Starrett: Penelope is a star in the heavens, and being born under her can make for an adventuresome life. Penelope is also a woman of strange and compelling beauty. Both can turn a man's world upside-down. Starrett was a contributor to several Chicago newspapers and a widely published novelist and story writer, also remembered for works including The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes and the detective Jimmie Lavender.

Penelope Haunts Twice is presented free of charge October 31 at Arts + Literature Laboratory, 111 S. Livingston St. in Madison. Reservations for guaranteed seating are available on Eventbrite.

Featuring the onstage talents of Mary Wallin, Laura Kochanowski, Soren Campbell, Anna Hahm, Eliza Howard, Jason Compton, Madeleine O'Keefe, Thomas Amacher, and Mitch Taylor.

To post a comment, you must register and login.