THEATRE

The Salem Theatre Company will kick off their Season Nine Main Stage programming by shredding some nerves and chilling some spines with Stephen Mallatratt’s adaptation of the Susan Hill novel The Woman in Black. The production is directed by Catherine M. Bertrand of Salem and features Salem State University theatre professor and Actors Equity Association member David Allen George of South Hamilton and Allen Vietzke of Salem. Marcie McKenzie of Beverly serves as Assistant Director and Emma Cavaliere of Salem serves as production stage manager.

A classic of the thriller genre, The Woman in Black has an unusual framework: a lawyer hires an actor to tutor him in recounting to family and friends a story that has long troubled him concerning events that transpired when he attended the funeral of an elderly recluse. There he caught sight of a woman in black, the mere mention of whom terrifies the locals, for she is a specter who haunts the neighborhood where her illegitimate child was accidentally killed. Legend says that anyone who sees her dies. As a means of catharsis the lawyer has invited some family and friends to watch as he and the actor recreate the events of that dark and stormy night with unforeseen results. Time Out New York says The Woman in Black “...provides a pleasurable ripple of fear down one's spine and an uncomfortable lurch in the pit of one's stomach."

The production runs from September 29 to October 15 at the STC Theater, 90 Lafayette Street in Salem. Performances are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are available online now at www.salemtheatre.com or can be reserved for pick up at the box office by calling 978-790-8546, or emailing info@salemtheatre.com. Online ticketing ends 24 hours in advance of each performance.