Ghost at Grandel Theatre

Running is all that Castle Cranshaw, a.k.a. Ghost, has ever known, but he runs for all the wrong reasons until he meets Coach, who sees something in him: raw talent. GHOST follows Castle as he tries to stay on track, literally and figuratively, harnessing his aptitude for speed on an elite local track team while battling the difficult realities of his past and present. Ghost also highlights the importance of allyship. As his teammates become friends and Coach stands in as a father figure, Castle finds a place where he belongs.Metro Theater Company presents the rolling world premiere of GHOST at the Grandel Theatre in the Grand Center Arts District, Feb. 2 March 1. Adapted by award-winning playwright Idris Goodwin, GHOST is based on the 2016 bestseller of the same name by New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Award honoree Jason Reynolds. GHOST, like so many of Reynolds other award-winning young adult novels, has experienced enormous popularity not only because of Reynolds authentic voice and writing style, but also because he writes about real issues for young readers. In GHOST, running track is used as a powerful metaphor, exploring the ever-present question: are you running from something or toward something? GHOST is a National Book Award Finalist for Young Peoples Literature and was nominated as one of Americas best-loved novels by PBSs "The Great American Read."St. Louis director, actor, and theater professor at UMSL Jacqueline Thompson, who recently directed Four Little Girls: Birmingham 1963 at COCA, directs GHOST. The seven-member cast portrays multiple characters. The cast includes Rae Davis; Joe Hanrahan; Alicia Rev Like; Carl Overly Jr.; Ernest Emmanuel Peeples; Jaz Tucker; and Jarris L. Williams.