Hampton Theatre Company's AN INSPECTOR CALLS Opens Tonight

The classic British thriller "An Inspector Calls" by J.B. Priestley will be the first play of the Hampton Theatre Company's 31st season. Opening tonight, October 22 at the Quogue Community Hall, the suspense filled mystery will run through November 8.

Celebrating in 2015 the 70th anniversary of its first production, "An Inspector Calls" takes place in England on a single evening, April 15, 1912, the same night as the sinking of the Titanic-and coincidentally the evening before the hit BBC drama "Downton Abbey" begins its storyline.

The prosperous Birling family is joyously celebrating the engagement of daughter Sheila to Gerald Croft, a most propitious match "made in heaven," both financially and socially. Yet, just when life seems serene and unassailable in the Birling world, a mysterious Inspector Goole appears, claiming to be investigating the tragic suicide of a lovely young woman. As the inspector's questioning brings to light damning bits of incriminating information, the Birling family tranquility begins to shatter.

The play is accusatory, tense and filled with the playwright's scathing commentary on the hypocrisies of Victorian/Edwardian British society. After its sensational stage debut in post-war 1945 London and a 1954 film adaptation, "An Inspector Calls" languished until 1992 when Stephen Daldry's smashing production, staged in both London and New York, brought the play and the playwright back into the spotlight.

Ratcheting up the intensity and the tension of Priestly's original, Sarah Hunnewell, HTC Executive Director and director of this production, has streamlined "An Inspector Calls" to create a taut, fast-moving and gripping piece of theater that is as relevant today-in a world of vast personal wealth and social inequity-as it was when it was first produced, 70 years ago.

Edward Brennan, who most recently appeared with the HTC in "The Drawer Boy," plays the mysterious Inspector Goole. Arthur Birling is played by HTC newcomer, Daren Kelly, whose credits include the Broadway productions of "Deathtrap," "Crazy For You" and "South Pacific."

Susan Galardi makes her HTC debut in the role of family matriarch, Sybil Birling. Amanda Griemsmann and Anthony Famulari, who appeared last spring in HTC's "Hay Fever," play the young couple, Sheila Birling and Gerald Croft. HTC newcomer Spencer Scott plays the Birling's troubled son Eric.

Set design is by Peter-Tolin Baker; lighting design is by Sebastian Paczynski. Teresa LeBrun is the costume designer and set decor is by Diana Marbury.

"An Inspector Calls" opens on October 22 and runs through November 8 at the Quogue Community Hall on Jessup Avenue. Showtimes are Thursdays and Fridays at 7, Saturdays at 8, and Sundays at 2:30.

Tickets are available at www.hamptontheatre.org, or by calling OvationTix at 1-866-811-4111.