'It Was A Dark and Stormy Night' at Phoenix Stage Company in Naugatuck- My Review

It Was A Dark and Stormy Night... is billed as a comedy by Tim Kelley, but contains enough creepy elements to live up to its title. Naugatuck Board of Education Chair David Heller came out with many others for opening night on Saturday of this ambitious production directed by Dan Checovetes that will play at Naugatuck’s Phoenix Stage Company until October 18 in a kind of pre-Halloween run.

The action is set in the dusty Ye Olde Wayside Inn, the home of the eccentric Saltmarsh family. Hepzibah (played by Marsha Howard Karp) and Arabella (Lauren Woolf) are daffy sisters who live with a creepy cousin that turns dangerous in foul weather. Their Uncle Silas (Mark Reese) is the oldest living lunatic in Massachusetts and the inn is haunted by the ghost of an old soldier who deserted Washington at Valley Forge. Cousin Ebenezer (Daniel R. Willey) lures victims to the inn to get revenge for a past wrong and a host of other characters in wonderful costumes show up for various reasons.

Mr. Checovetes did a fine job with all the elements of this quirky piece and the cast worked well together to bring the characters to life. It was a treat to see Ms. Karp return to the PSC stage to play one of the crazy Saltmarsh sisters and Ms. Woolf was her perfect partner in lunacy. Denise Whelan, who just finished playing Curio in Twelfth Night on this stage, was delightfully odd as the hired help Olive.

Mr. Willey could not have been creepier in the role of Ebenezer; clad all in black with a scar on his cheek, he was a pretty scary presence. Becky Venable returns to the PSC in the role of nurse Jane Adams and Debbie Forish is back as nurse Mary Shaw. Other PSC veterans included Joshua Luszczak in the role of college student Ed Perkins, Mark E. Rees as Uncle Silas, Tony Benedetti as lawman Snell, Tim Phillips as Dawson, Lori Poulin as Euphemia, and Ed Bassett as Smilin Sam.

Two actresses making their Phoenix Stage debut included Oxford High School student Amy Soderquist as Mary’s sister Dorothy Blake and Alison Hyde Pascale, a college junior from Avon, in the role of Belle Malibu. I hope that both of these young performers will be back for other shows.

There were definitely some funny lines and a few audience members at opening night stated some plot points aloud. I was startled by at least one character’s entrance and enjoyed the intricate creepiness of the large set designed by the director and Ed Bassett. The wardrobe of this band of characters that was designed by Mr. Bassett was impressive, especially the getup sported by Ms. Karp as Hepzibah, and lots of spider- web-covered props by Ms. Poulin and Mr. Bassett. There was plenty of spooky music and sound cues, as well as moody lighting to add to the haunted house vibe.

The Salem Foundation has awarded the PSC a sponsorship grant that will allow them to provide tickets to students in the Naugatuck High School Drama Club to attend shows at the community theater that is literally across the street from their campus. Next up is the last staged reading of a new work for the year entitled Burying Aunt Beulah on Friday, Oct. 24. Admission is free.

Pictured: The entire cast of It Was A Dark and Stormy Night at Phoenix Stage Company