Main Street theater production actors share inside scoop on ‘Gaslight’, play opens Thursday

The curtain is set to rise on a new production Aug. 7 at the Main Street Theater. Running throughout the week until Aug. 10 will be the Victorian-era thriller “Gaslight,” a story brought to life by director Shaughnessy Howell and her team of actors and producers.

Written by British novelist Patrick Hamilton, the show covers the trickery and deceit-filled marriage of Bella and Jack Hemmington as Jack attempts to capture his wife’s decadent inheritance, said Howell.

“This play is about a woman who has been isolated and manipulated by her seemingly loving husband to the point where she can no longer trust in her own senses — but it’s all a ploy to get her put into an asylum so that he can get full run of her house and wealth,” Howell said. “Bella is being systematically driven out of her mind.”

Joined by her fellow thespians Katie Moody, Sarah Tupa, Ann Kapp, D Franklin and Joey Ochoa, Howell, along with her team, said that they would be bringing to life the captivating tale of a fractured marriage. They also expanded on the roles within the film, exploring the themes and characters of the play.

“I play the very quirky, eccentric and old detective who is excited and ready to put this 20-year-old case behind him,” Franklin said. “I’ve had a lot of fun working around him, because he’s very funny and silly at points, but then he gets very excited and determined. I get to be dramatic, goofy, serious, heroic, all of it at once.”

“I play Nancy, and her role in all of this is manipulating the manipulator, kind of behind the scenes. The way she gaslights Bella is not very nice, but it’s so much fun. For all her flaws, the woman is very confident, and she is so confident and when I get into it, I swear when I leave, I walk out feeling like a different person,” Moody said. “If I had that kind of confidence on a daily basis, I could take over the world.”  

Beyond simply putting on a show, the production of “Gaslight” brings with it something special, the team said. They explained how this was the first major multi-person production put on in the theater since COVID-19 shuttered previous performances.

“It’s been very sad that the theater hasn’t put on a whole show in almost five years. I’m so glad to be part of this effort to reopen the theater. It’s funky, but in a nice way. It’s eclectic and when I first walked in, I was a bit surprised. But it’s like coming back to a comfortable old friend,” Kapp said.

“Gaslight” in particular, however, holds a special place in her heart alongside the theater itself, Howell said.  For her, “Gaslight” was the play where her parents met. A local actress herself, Howell reminisced on the years she spent coming to theater as a child.

“This theatre is so nostalgic for me. I’ve been coming to this theatre since I was eight-years-old and my parents met here in this show in a production of the original show. They were Jack and Belle,” Howell said. “Even with all its quirks and all the workarounds we had to find, I just love this building. I think it’s fantastic. This show and building is very sentimental to me.”

The group as a whole, however, expressed their eagerness about getting the show going, despite challenges presented by the neglect the Main Street Theatre faced such as electrical issues and debris, the group stated that getting up on stage was worth all the work.

“I think it’s so cool seeing all the posters here, and there’s so much history here. Then we got to go up and see all the old costumes and see how many shows were put on here, it was amazing,” Tupa said.

“When we first walked in and saw the non-existent set and we didn’t have AC, it’s amazing to see the difference,” Kapp said.

“They really had to pull something out of nothing — they were almost like magic,” Franklin said.

In addition, members of the cast also expressed their appreciation for all those that helped restore the theater to working condition, as well as talking about how Howell helped get the ball rolling on restoring the theatre.

“The community that I’ve met in just doing local theater has been unmatched – without peer,” Howell said. “Ever since I became part of this, and came back to Port Lavaca, anytime I ran into anybody connected to Main Street Theatre, I said ‘Boy, it’s such a shame that nothing’s going on at Main Street Theatre.’ And then, I would go-on and say to the next person, ‘Boy it’s such a shame that nothing’s going on at Main Street Theatre.’ I guess the moral of the story is that if you complain to a broad enough number of people, you’ll find the person who can help you.”

Looking past the play, Howell and the others said that they hope that the production of “Gaslight” will reignite the theater scene in the Port Lavaca area  and their show will be the first of many to return.

“Hopefully this building gets used for something, anything,” Kapp said. “It can’t just be left empty.”

Tickets are on sale at www.pltx.org/plmst-gaslight or may be purchased at the door.

For more information on Port Lavaca’s Main Street or to make a donation to Main Street Inc., visit plmainstreet.org.