CK Players premiers its new melodrama, “The Spiritualist” June 3 through 19 at The Charles A. Brown IceHouse in Bethlehem.
“The Spiritualist,” written by Ara Barlieb, is set in London near the end of The Great War and the beginning of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918, which together killed more than 70 million people worldwide
It recounts the harrowing tale of Col. Sebastian Lloyd, a retired military officer on a desperate quest to make contact with his wife and three small children who succumbed to the ravages of the disease while he was off fighting in the trenches on the Belgian front.
Unable to accept his survival in bloody battle while his family fell helplessly to the relentless virus at home, Sebastian (David Oswald) enlists the aid of his widowed sister-in-law, Gwendoline, to learn if the renowned Spiritualist Madam Tasaya can help reunite the living and the dead.
However, Gwendoline (Trish Cipoletti) is a respected scientist who, while deeply in love with Sebastian, is nonetheless unshakably skeptical.
When Sebastian becomes convinced that Tasaya is indeed speaking with his dead wife, Gwendoline mounts a fierce and protracted battle to try to dissuade him … with swift and tragic consequences.
With guest pre-show appearances by master magicians Bruce Ward or Joseph Keppel, performances are 8 p.m. June 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, and 2 p.m. June 5, 12, 19.
Tickets are at ckplayers.com, cash or check at the door. For information, visit online or call 610-704-6974.
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