THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE Opens At The Long Beach Playhouse

The Long Beach Playhouse opens its 2019 - 2020 season with The Haunting of Hill House. The play is adapted by F. Andrew Leslie from the novel written by Shirley Jackson in 1959. The story focuses on Dr. Montague (a paranormal researcher), an isolated and creepy old house with a bad reputation, a collection of his guests chosen for their susceptibility to the supernatural, a quirky relative of the mansion's owner and the strangely disquieting house staff. As the foreboding and creepiness grows we must ask the question, "What can be done when the malevolent presence isn't in the house but is the house?"

"This is the time of year when we indulge in ghost stories and creepy mansions," said Madison Mooney, Playhouse Executive Director. "What better tribute to Halloween than a classic horror story told well? Our audiences are going to love it."

"A play like The Haunting of Hill House requires the perfect mixture of set, sound and lighting design. The actors must deliver nuanced performances that draw the audience into the story but don't give too much away," said Sean Gray, Artistic Director for the Playhouse. "I chose Holland Renton to direct the show because she's got the skills that will deliver a show that does all that in a way that doesn't come across as trite, forced or unbelievable."

The Haunting of Hill House is Renton's first time to direct a Mainstage play but not the first time to direct or to act at the Playhouse. Last year she directed The Dying Declaration of Marge Oberholtzer for the New Works Festival and was recently seen as Annie Cannon in Silent Sky.

Ms. Renton said in preparing to direct the show she was struck by words actor and director Guillermo Del Toro wrote about the book. He said, "All spiritual experience requires faith, and faith requires abandonment: the humility to fully surrender to a tide of truths and wills infinitely larger than ourselves. It is in this abandonment that we are allowed to witness phenomena that go beyond our nature and that reveal the spiritual side of our existence." She wanted to give the audience the space for the abandonment to witness the phenomena and believe in an alternate universe where a house lives and preys.

The seven-member cast is a mix of returning favorites and debut performances. Making their debuts are: Jade Yancosky, Paige Laney, and Marcia Bender. Returning actors are: Mitchell Nunn, David Edward Reyes, Lee Samuel Tanng and Phyllis M. Nofts.

The show opens September 21 and runs through October 19, 2019.

SPECIAL EVENTS FOR THIS PLAY:

• Pay what you can Thursday September 19 - community can see this production for whatever they can afford
• Two for One Preview Friday September 20 - Tickets are $10.00
• Opening Night Champagne Reception with cast on September 21 - Tickets are $27.00

Friday: Adults are $20.00, Seniors $18.00, and Students $14.00, Saturday and Sunday: Adults are $24.00, Seniors $21.00, and Students $14.00. Tickets are available at www.lbplayhouse.org, or by calling 562-494-1014, option 1.

Long Beach Playhouse is located at 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach, CA, 90804, right across from the Long Beach Recreation golf course. The Playhouse is community-supported theatre with programs and events that cut across age, gender, ethnic, and cultural boundaries.

Performances are 8 p.m. Friday, and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. The box office is open Wednesday-Saturday from 3:00-8:00 pm and Sundays from 1:00-2:00 pm on scheduled matinees.

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