*** Recommended Do you believe in ghosts? In honor spooky stories month (October), Theater Wit brings us Household Spirits, a gripping ghost story that takes place around an entirely different holiday – Christmas. Although Household Spirits starts out as a relatively simple, almost light-hearted haunting, it quickly progresses into something much darker. In the end, I can almost guarantee it will send a shiver or two up your spine! 3 ½ Spotlights
The opening scene features a young man who is totally involved with his phone, sitting at a kitchen island, while in the background a woman is sitting on the floor with her head in an electric oven. Ignored, she gets up and walks into a pantry with burn holes in the wall.
The young man turns out to be Erik (Nathan Hile), a high-school student who lives with his father, Philip (Doug McKechnie) and new-ish stepmother, Evelyn (Jennifer Jelsema). The woman with her head in the oven is the ghost of his mother, Clara (Ilyssa Fradin).
Dragging her suitcase, ‘valley girl’ Rox (Théa Baum) bursts into the kitchen looking for her mother. She’s unhappily home from college for the holidays due to some kerfluffle with her boyfriend.
Angela (Cindy Gold), the housekeeper, who raised Erik, is positive she’s about to be fired. She’s the only one in the house who senses Clara’s presence, although the pantry door seems to open and close at will. Philip and Evelyn have had the house listed for a long time but Clara scaree off every prospective buyer.
When Evelyn arrives home from a business trip, she’s furious to learn Philip had Angela pour out all the booze in the house, because he got a DUI. As a result, he’s going to AA meetings and trying to 12-step his life.
One night Evelyn brings a life-size rag doll home. Apparently, her ex-mother-in-law left the doll to Rox, but her ex-husband wouldn’t give it up, so she stole it. The doll, propped up in an easy chair in the corner, just a doll, right? If so, why does Leo (Joe Zarrow) want it back, why do people try to hide things in it, and why does it talk (voiced by Suzanne Petri) when it’s all alone?
Household Spirits runs through November 11th at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont, Chicago. Park in Theater Wit’s lot across the street for $10 (pay at box office). Running time is 2 hours with an intermission. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:00 pm, Sundays at 2:00 pm. Tickets range from $18-$55. FYI (773) 975-8150 or www.theaterwit.org.