Arcturus Theater Company Presents August Strindberg's THE PELICAN, Beginning Tonight

Arcturus Theater Company will present August Strindberg's 1907 drama "The Pelican," tonight, May 14, to May 22, 2016, at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, 1313 New York Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20005, within two blocks of the McPherson Square Metro stop (on the Orange and Blue Lines) and within three blocks of Metro Center (on the Orange, Blue, and Red Lines).

Show times:

Saturday, May 14, 2016, 8 pm.
Sunday, May 15, 2016, 2 pm.
Saturday, May 21, 2016, 8 pm.
Sunday, May 22, 2016, 2 pm.

$30, with discounts for students and seniors.

Purchase tickets at https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?ticketing=arctc

http://www.arcturustheater.org

In a nutshell:

The Pelican is a haunted play by one of Sweden's most renowned playwrights, August Strindberg. A mother's squandering of her family's funds is revealed after the father's death... with explosive results.

Longer version:

Strindberg used "The Pelican" to launch the theater company he started, and his production was one of the most successful plays he produced for his theater company. The play was regarded as subversive at the time because of its straightforward way of showing how some parents may damage their children's psyches. It is also a "haunted" chamber piece with spooky hints of a ghost: a rocking chair that rocks on its own, a photo that falls off the wall, and vases that mysteriously tip over. The plot concerns a family who had set up a guise to seem middle class or better. Over the years, the mother squandered much of their money on herself, to the detriment of her husband, daughter, and son. The father dies from the stress brought on by his wife, and the daughter marries a charlatan who schemes to get his hands on her family's money. The son discovers a torn-up letter from his father in a secret compartment that reveals his mother's true character. The son shares this information with his sister, and when her new husband discovers there is no family money, he abandons them. When the son and daughter confront their mother about her selfish ways, the mother appears to recognize her wrongdoings and throws herself off the balcony. The daughter and son experience their own doom in a flood of flames.

Wendy Wilmer, David Johnson, Emily Sucher, Ryan Carlo, and Jamie Crowne, make up the cast, with understudies Marlowe Vilchez, Madelyn Farris, and Amy Treat. Directed by Ross Heath. Technical supervision with period costumes by Jeff Maione. Stage manager, Allie Alexander.