Following the tremendous success of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Lamar University Department of Theatre & Dance will present the Henrik Ibsen classic Ghosts in an adaptation by British director and playwright Richard Eyre. The production will run November 8-11 in the Lamar University Theatre.

“Ghosts is a play about people who are living lies; who are ruining the world through their attempts to make it better,” said Joel Grothe, associate professor of theatre. “Ibsen believed Ghosts was about all mankind wandering blindly down the wrong path.”

The play, set in Norway in the late 19th century, centers around Helen Alving (played by junior Caitlin Grammer from Bridge City, TX), a widow who is dedicating an orphanage in the name of her late husband. Arriving for the ceremony is her son, Oswald (Chris Shroff, junior, Thicket, TX), and Pastor Manders (Josh Pendino, sophomore, Lumberton, TX), both of who stir up the ghosts of the past and reveal hidden truths that will change the characters’ lives forever. Rounding out the cast is Dustin Smith (sophomore, West Hardin, TX) as local carpenter Jacob Engstrand and Maddie Hightower (junior, Port Neches, TX) as his daughter Regina, a servant in Helen Alvings’ home.

“This play resonates,” said Grothe, who was in a professional production of Ghosts in 2003 in Toronto. “It stands the test of time. The conflicts among the characters, the manipulation, the inherited behavior. It’s stuff we can all still relate to almost 150 years after the play was written.”

Directing the show is Chloe Sullivan, a senior theatre major from Kountze, TX. Daelen Fox, senior from Vidor, TX and recent star of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, is the costume designer.

“This production is student driven. As faculty, we are here to support and contribute, but the students lead the way. Chloe and Daelen are both exceptional theatre majors who will be very successful when they leave Lamar,” said Grothe.

Tickets for Ghost can be purchased at lamar.edu/theatre. Prices range from $7-$15. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. and the Sunday performance begins at 2:00 p.m.