Now in production

The Woman in Black

A play that has been seen by over a million people is about to make Traverse City a little uneasy. The Woman in Black, a haunting play, opens on the Grand Trunk Theatre Stage on May 9th at 8 p.m.

Eel March House stands tall, gaunt and isolated, somewhere on England's bleak East Coast. Here Mrs. Alice Drablow lived and died - alone. Young Arthur Kipps is ordered by his firm to attend her funeral and then sort out all her papers. His task is a lonely one, and at first Kipps is unaware of the tragic secrets which lie behind the house's shuttered windows. He only has a terrible sense of unease.

And then, he glimpes a young woman with a wasted face, dressed all in black, at the back of the church during Mrs. Drablow's funeral, and later, in the graveyard. Who is she? Why is she there? The locals cannor will not give him answers and refuse to talk about the woman in black, or acknowledge her existence at all. So, Arthur Kipps has to wait until he sees her again, and she slowly reveals her identity to him - and her terrible purpose.

A combination of mystery and ghost story, the play tells the tale of a curse one man believes hangs over his family. Set in a time of horse-drawn carriages and remote houses, a lawyer recounts his visit to a house, which no one can leave or enter after the water rises in the evening. There to settle the accounts of a recently deceased recluse, he encounters the woman in black, and the strange history of the woman who lived in the house.

Not a traditional horror story, Stephen Mallatratt's adaptation of Susan Hill's bestselling book has been linked to the ghost story writing of Charles Dickens, M.R. James, Henry James, and Edith Wharton. This adaptation for the stage remains entirely true to the book and uses much of Hill's own descriptive writing and dialogue, while transforming the novel into a totally gripping piece of theatre. It has run for over 15 consecutive years with eight sold-out performances per week at London's Fortune Theatre.

Theatre North's production of The Woman in Black features actors Jan Dalton, Mike Kelly and Bernadette Groppuso and is directed by Scott Bufé.

• The Woman in Black runs on May 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 18*, 22, 23, 24, 25*.
      * Sunday matinees begin at 3pm.    All other shows begin at 8pm.

• Because of limited dates and limited seating, people are encouraged to get tickets soon.

• Tickets are $12 and are available now.  Tickets will also be available one hour before all show times in the lobby of the Grand Trunk Theater.

• Tickets may be purchased by calling (231) 632-3029.

• Or get your Tickets by eMail :  (Please include your Name, Phone Number, eMail Address, and Date and number of Tickets you would like.  You will be contacted with confirmation and can pick up your tickets at the door before the performance.)