Haunting the light fantastic: The musical comedy 'In Good Spirits' opens next week at the Shea

By JENNIFER HESHION Bulletin Contributing Writer

Published on October 10, 2008

What do you get when you mix five mismatched ghosts with a group of struggling actors, a lovelorn writer, and a bit of song and dance?

Starting next week at the Shea Theater, audiences will get a hilarious musical from the mind of Springfield playwright Howard Odentz, brought to life by Arena Civic Theatre.

The Amherst-based company opens "In Good Spirits" Oct. 17 at the Shea Theater, with book, music, and lyrics by Odentz, orchestrations by three-time Emmy Award-winning composer Bruce Zimmerman and vocal arrangements by Amy Roberts-Crawford.

The show, directed by Robert DuCharme and choreographed by Melanie Reneris, is a twisted tale of five ghosts who are doomed to haunt the theater in which they all perished for various reasons, now trapped in a purgatory of clashing egos and incessant bickering. The only escape hatch is the "Stage Door," which, unfortunately - as if they weren't unlucky enough - is a one-way ticket to eternal hell-fire.

The ghosts are a diverse array of characters surely not meant to co-exist at the same time. Laslo Miller, played by Steve Woodard of Leverett, was a Shakespearean actor from the days of the Civil War, who dodged the draft and died of a heart attack onstage. Edie O'Reiley, played by Dawn Ross of Northampton, was a 1920s flapper who caught the eye of an audience member and was shot in the middle of a performance by his jealous wife.

Bunny Hopper and Salvador Secconado, played by Sarah Kaczmarek of Sunderland and Dom Baird of Greenfield, were a couple unlucky enough to be caught under a falling mirror ball during their 1950s high school prom at the theater. Finally, Tequila Mockingbird, played by Dave Peck of Greenfield, is a flamboyant Gen-X drag queen, who broke her neck when a rival contestant tripped her offstage.

The eternal discontent of the ghosts is compounded when the Quabbin Memorial Players decide to move into the empty theater. With the exception of 9-year-old Carol Ann, played by Emma Henderson, none of the living actors can see the ghosts.

Turns out the theater group's lack of funds puts a serious damper on their grand plans for artistic glory. Initially the ghosts try to disrupt the production, but on the off chance a good deed might earn them a spot in heaven, they decide to help the living put on a show that the audience will never forget.

"In Good Spirits" premiered in 2004 at The Broad Brook Opera House in Connecticut, opening to rave reviews. "I never thought it would go anywhere after that and now it is all up and down New England," Odentz said.

Ghostly inspiration

Odentz, who is a communications consultant with MassMutual Financial Group in Springfield, was inspired to write "In Good Spirits" after working with a community theater group in Broad Brook, Conn. He said that when the Saint Martha's Players moved into a new theater rumored to be haunted, his imagination ran wild and he began writing the early music for "In Good Spirits." He compared the writing process to watching events unfold in his mind.

"You see the beginning and the end," Odentz said, "and it's like watching a movie to find out how you get there."

During the year he spent writing, pieces of his own life made their ways into the show. For example, one song is named after his sister's imaginary childhood friend, "Suzie Zickle."

"The easiest part is the music," he said, "There are no constraints; I just make it up."

Unable to read music himself, Odentz composes his works by trial and error on the piano, a method he says gives him more creative freedom. Then he brings his music to Zimmerman, with whom he has collaborated on several shows, including "Piecemeal," which premiered at the Broad Brook Opera House last spring.

Producer Sondra Radosh considers the 22 original songs "the gems" of the production. She characterizes the show as a "Waiting for Guffman" - the 1997 musical mockumentary directed by Christopher Guest - with a little bit of "A Chorus Line" and "Little Shop of Horrors" thrown in for good measure.

"The whole plot of the show is in the music," she said, "and the music is really great. Each song advances the story. The songs are the show."

Odentz said that on opening night he will be just as excited as the audience to see the latest interpretation of his work. "It's my job to write the book, the music, and the lyrics, and it's the director's job to put his vision into it," he said.

Fortunately, "Comedy is [DuCharme[']s] forte," said Radosh, who has worked with the director on over 100 A.C.T. productions. And as for the cast, "We always have the cream of the crop," she said. "If you can make me laugh during rehearsals then you know you've got a winner."

Performances will be held at the Shea Theater in Turners Falls Oct. 17, 18, 24, and 25, at 8 p.m. with matinees Oct. 19 and 26 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $13 general admission and $11 for seniors and students. Tickets will be sold at the door and can also be purchased in advance at World Eye Bookstore in Greenfield, at the Jones Library in Amherst, or by calling the Shea Box Office at (413) 863-2281 ext. 3.