Ghosts

by Henrik Ibsen, in a new translation by Lanford WIlson

Presented at
BoHo Theatre @
Heartland Studio
June 18 — July 18, 2010

Directed by
Peter Marston Sullivan

Produced by
Peter Blair

Download the Ghosts program.

Cast:
Saren Nofs-Snyder, Steve O'Connell, Charles Riffenburg IV, Florence Ann Romano, and Sean Thomas

How long can you keep a secret before it destroys you?

Mrs. Alving has spent her entire life keeping secrets about her late husband. As she prepares to open an orphanage in his honor, her only son returns home with a deadly illness, looking for answers, while an old family friend begins digging into the family's past. Trapped in the confines of a strict society, surrounded by a dull overcast countryside, the truths that Mrs. Alving thought long-buried are suddenly returning to haunt her.

In 1881 Ibsen rocked the literary and theatrical worlds with the publication of Ghosts, a play so controversial in its time that even the head of Nya Teatern, one of Stockholm's major theatres, called it "one of the filthiest things ever written in Scandanavia."

Once the uproar had died down, audiences proved far more receptive to Ghosts than the literati had initially been, and while its dramatic subjects of promiscuity, incest and sexually transmitted disease no longer arouse the feverish denunciations of Ibsen's time, their treatment retains the power that has made the play a masterpiece of Western literature.

Read more about Ghosts in the BoHo Backstage Blog article.

Rave reviews for The Glorious Ones:

"Absolutely stunning... This is Greek tragedy with a Scandinavian chill."
-Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times - RECOMMENDED

"Peter Marston Sullivan, with an eye to minutiae, delivers a story that is nearly cinematic... Ghosts is as aesthetic as it is exciting, with exquisite and vibrant performances"
-TheatreWorld

"A blistering and provocative think piece as served so potently by the Bohemian Theatre Ensemble."
-Steadstyle Chicago

"Under P. Marston Sullivan's direction, the cast, uniformly capable, handle potentially melodramatic moments with truth and ease... Ibsen's work, controversial in his time, proves continuously relevant in ours."
-Center Stage

"Meticulous and forthright... a jewel of a production"
-Chicago Theatre Blog

"A welcome opportunity to see a landmark of modern drama."
-John Beer, TimeOut Chicago

"This is a soul searching piece that will bring forth some emotion... certainly worth the trip to Rogers Park."
-Chicago Critic

Ghosts Production Photos:
Click a thumbnail to enlarge and navigate through photos