Long Wharf Theatre, in partnership with Hartford Stage, will present Bell, Book, and Candle, by John Van Druten, directed by Hartford Stage Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak, from March 7 through April 1 on the Mainstage.
Gillian Holroyd, a lively free spirit, is unlucky in love and restless in her life. She also happens to be a witch. So when she watches the love of her life, Shep Henderson, get engaged to her college rival, she uses every magical trick up her sleeve to stop the impending wedding. The mundane meet the miraculous in this bewitching romantic comedy set against the stylish backdrop of mid-1950s Manhattan.
“Bell, Book, and Candle is a forgotten gem, a simply delightful romantic comedy about leaving your life behind because you love someone so much,” said Long Wharf Theatre Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein. “It tells the tale of someone from one culture falling in love with someone from another culture.”
The cast of Bell, Book and Candle includes Kate MacCluggage (Violet Bick in Long Wharf Theatre’s production of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play; Elliot Norton Award for ‘Portia’ in The Merchant of Venice; directed by Darko Tresnjak) as Gillian Holroyd, Michael Keyloun (Goodspeed’s City of Angels) as Nicky Holroyd, Robert Eli (Lincoln Center Theater’s Saturn Returns; Hartford Stage’s The 39 Steps) as Shep Henderson, Gregor Paslawsky (Goodspeed’s City of Angels/Long Wharf Theatre’s Travesties and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead) as Sidney Redlitch and Ruth Williamson (Broadway: Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, La Cage aux Folles, The Music Man) as Aunt Queenie.
The production team includes Tony nominee (for Roundabout’s Present Laughter) Alexander Dodge, scenic design; Fabio Toblini, costume design; Matt Richards, lighting design; Lindsay Jones, sound design; and Susie Cordon, production stage manager.
Bell, Book, and Candle marks the first show selected by Tresnjak in his new role as artistic director of Hartford Stage. The show will move to Hartford and run from April 5th through 29th. “John Van Druten’s Bell, Book, and Candle is smart, sexy and provocative. It delves into the price of love in a completely entertaining and guilt-free fashion. I look forward to this collaboration between Long Wharf Theatre and Hartford Stage and to sharing the production with the people of Connecticut,” Tresnjak said.
The play, under Van Druten’s direction, made its debut in November 1950 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway and played for 233 performances. Rex Harrison and his then-wife Lilli Palmer played Shep Henderson and Gillian Holroyd. In 1958, Bell, Book, and Candle was adapted for film with James Stewart and Kim Novak in the lead roles.
