PITTSBURGH THEATER: THE CREATIVE TALE OF GHOSTS

Once again, the creative experts at off the WALL Theater deliver a thought-provoking, once in a lifetime story in the form of Ghosts.
Sarah Silk -Virginia Wall Gruenert - Shaun Hall
Photo by Heather Mull

According to Artistic Director, Virginia Wall Gruenert, Ghosts delivers a challenging and sometimes painful theme of the damage done by secrets of infidelity, incest, seedy family stories and more.

Ghosts was purposely selected as the first ever classic to be presented on the stage of off the WALL Theater. At the time of its 19th century roots, Ghosts was a dramatic and groundbreaking play that insulted society by exposing the unspoken deeds of darkness, an approach embraced by off the WALL‘s founder and creative leadership. The play also presents one of the greatest female characters of all time, also in keeping with off the WALL‘s focus on bringing women actors to the forefront of today’s stage.

Director Simm Landres carries his film experience to the stage. (Simm had roles in Rachel, Rachel and Alice’s Restaurant). His artistic touch delivers an intimate view of every character, making their pain accessible and even palpable to the audience.

The cast of Ghosts delivers what can only be called a sensational and realistic portrayal of a dark message. Cast member Sarah Silk makes her debut on off the WALL‘s stage, joining familiar cast members including Virginia Wall Gruenert, Ken Bolden, Shaun Cameron Hall, and Weston Blakesley.


GHOSTS

A Pittsburgh Theater Premiere
Feb 27-28, Mar 5-7, 12-14 @ 8:00 PM
Matinee Mar 1 & 8 @ 3 PM

Written by: Henrik Ibsen
Adapted by: Virginia Wall Gruenert
Directed by: Simm Landres
With: Virginia Wall Gruenert*, Ken Bolden*, Shaun Cameron Hall, Sarah Silk*, Weston Blakesley*

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

GHOSTS: A SET IN THE MAKING (PART 1)

Image
In this two-part blog, I’m going to focus not on the play itself, but on the set. Why? Because quite simply the set is astonishing! If you’ve been keeping up with our blogs, you already know that our current production Ghosts is set in the early 1880’s, that it was written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Isben and that though it is a revered classic today, it was considered absolutely scandalous in its time. The exposed secrets and immoralities conflicted with society’s moral taboos. If you’d like to learn more about the history of the play, the storyline, the characters or director, please peruse our recent posts. Scenic Design: Rich Preffer In the meantime, let’s take a look at the set. The set design, by Rich Preffer, captures the essence of the play. The mood. The character. The unsaid meanings and implications. The set itself includes a cage like structure, including a canopy structure, which encompasses the entire set. Looking at the set, you at once feel both the sense of h
Read more

Women Count at at off the WALL

WOMEN COUNT In case you missed the theatre industry’s gender parity movement, here’s a recap: women have been writing plays for millennia and landing productions for centuries.   Over time, they’ve also come to play key roles onstage and backstage.   But female theatre artists of all kinds still find themselves bonking their heads on a glass ceiling known as the “glass curtain.”   Even today, female playwrights, directors, and designers are atypical.   Shakespearian gender-swapping has been mooted as a partial solution; however, such theatrical “novelty” only serves to distract from the main issue – the absence of contemporary dramas reflecting the complexity of women’s lives.   Cross-gender casting fails to question the over-representation of dead and living male playwrights.   It does not address the fact that half our contemporary creative world is missing. In an essay in howlround.com, Jenny Lyn Bader writes: “We live in a world dominated by male imagination. (Men) writ
Read more

Celebrating family and friends in 2019

Image
Thank you for making 2018 so special As 2019 starts to gear up, we’re left remembering the many moments we’ve shared with you in 2018. It was a great year and we hope to make 2019 even better! We sincerely offer our most heartful ‘thank you’ to our creative partners, patrons, employees, and collaborators – Carnegie Stage and off the WALL surely wouldn’t be the same without every single one of you who make up our humble little community. From the bottom of our hearts, we’re happy to have you as part of our family. Erika Cuenca - Virginia Wall Gruenert Byhalia, Mississippi, May 2018 If you’d like to join the Carnegie Stage/off the WALL family, consider donating – no amount it too big or too small… and every little bit helps! With your help we are able to pay EVERY single person who works for us – there are no volunteers; only paid employees. We believe all working artists deserve to make a living doing what they love. To help support our cause, consider donating monthly or a
Read more