THE HAUNTING OF WINCHESTER
Book and Lyrics by Mary Bracken Phillips, Music and Orchestrations by Craig Bohmler
show details
Cast Size: 11 (7M, 3W, 1 eleven-year-old child)
Orchestra Size: 6 instruments
synopsis
"The Haunting Of Winchester," commissioned by The Repertory Theatre Of San Jose for their 2005 season, explores the legend of Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune, and her Winchester Mystery House, one of the most famous haunted houses in the world.
The plot revolves around Sarah's relationship with the ghost of Jack Kerrigan, a gunfighter who was killed by a man armed with a Winchester rifle and who has sworn to avenge himself on Sarah. Unfortunately for Kerrigan, he himself is haunted by the ghosts of the men he killed, all clamoring for revenge as well.
At first, the recently widowed Sarah is too preoccupied with her own grief to notice the spirits around her, but as she begins to add on to her house, the voices become clearer. When Kerrigan forces her to face the fact the Winchester rifle company is selling a lethal weapon to anyone who can afford it, she realizes she's as guilty as the ghosts haunting her.
The Mystery House becomes a symbolic limbo where Kerrigan and Sarah find love and forgiveness, and the other ghosts find repentance and redemption.
quotes & reviews
"A heebie-jeebie crowd pleaser crammed with tricks and treats" - San Jose Mercury News
"refreshing and surprising" – "more than a ghost of a chance of having a future beyond the south bay"- Oakland Tribune
"Ghost Farce with buoyant cowboy and hoedown spoofs " San Francisco Chronicle
"includes knee slappin’ cowboy melodies, romantic songs on the order Phantom of the Opera, with even a little Assassins thrown in" - Talkin’ Broadway
"altogether entertaining, romantic, and yes - thought-provoking" Curtain Up
"funny, magical and thought-provoking" San Francisco Bay Times
"an enjoyable fantasy with a lively score"- Backstage Magazine
music clips
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