Stephen King’s Ghost Brothers debuts Nov. 8 at CCA
Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, a Southern gothic supernatural musical written by Stephen King, debuts Saturday, Nov. 8, at the Collins Center for the Arts at the University of Maine.
King, a best-selling author and UMaine alumnus, teamed with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Mellencamp and Grammy Award-winning T Bone Burnett to create the haunting tale of fraternal love, lust, jealousy and revenge.
Ghost Brothers of Darkland County is a collaboration 16 years in the making. The staging is both old fashioned, resembling an old-style radio show, and modern and unique in its interactive use of storytelling, music and singing to move the macabre story forward. Eerie blues roots music reveals the inner workings of the characters. The full cast for the musical was announced Sept. 30. Actor/writer/producer Billy Burke (The Twilight Saga) and actress/writer/singer Gina Gershon (Killer Joe, House of Versace, Boeing, Boeing) play the lead roles of Joe McCandless and Monique McCandless, respectively.
The tale begins with Joe McCandless reflecting on a past tragedy involving his two older brothers battling over a girl, which ended in the unfortunate deaths of all three. Now, with Joe as an adult and two boys of his own, he’s watching an all-too-familiar scenario play out before his eyes. With his sons at each other’s throats, Joe’s story will either save or destroy the McCandless family.
Shows at the CCA are at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9. Prior to Saturday’s debut, a 2014 season gala will be held at Fogler Library. A reception begins at 5 p.m. and a Southern-inspired dinner commences at 6 p.m. To order tickets, call 207.581.1755, visit collinscenterforthearts.com/season.php, aeglive.com or ghostbrothersofdarklandcounty.com.
| CAST | |
| Joe McCandless | Billy Burke |
| Monique McCandless | Gina Gershon |
| The Shape | Jake La Botz |
| Zydeco Cowboy | Jesse Lenant |
| Drake McCandless | Joe Tippett |
| Frank McCandless | Lucas Kavner |
| Anna Wicklow | Kylie Brown |
| Dan Coker | Eric Moore |
| Andy McCandless | Travis Smith |
| Jack McCandless | Peter Albrink |
| Jenna Farrell | Kate Ferber |
| Young Joe | Zac Ballard |
| Featured Background Vocalist | Carlene Carter |
| Newt Hoggenbeck / Ensemble | Joe Jung |
| Ensemble | Gwen Hughes |
| Ensemble | Rob Lawhon |
| BAND | |
| Music Supervision, Arrangements, | |
| Band Leader, Guitarist | Andy York |
| Percussion | Dane Clark |
| Keyboards and Harmonica | Troye Kinnett |
| Upright Bass | Jon E. Gee |
| NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES | ||
| Nov. 8 | Orono, ME | Collins Center for the Arts |
| Nov. 9 | Orono, ME | Collins Center for the Arts |
| Nov. 11 | Toronto, ON | Massey Hall |
| Nov. 13 | Philadelphia, PA | Merriam Theatre |
| Nov. 14 | Durham, NC | Durham Performing Arts Center |
| Nov. 15 | Washington, DC | Warner Theatre |
| Nov. 16 | Baltimore, MD | The Modell Performing Arts Center at the LYRIC |
| Nov. 18 | Red Bank, NJ | Count Basie Theatre |
| Nov. 20 | Portland, ME | Merrill Auditorium |
| Nov. 21 | Boston, MA | Emerson Colonial Theatre |
| Nov. 22 | Providence, RI | The VETS |
| Nov. 24 | New York, NY | Beacon Theatre |
| Nov. 26 | Detroit, MI | Fisher Theatre |
| Nov. 28 | Chicago, IL | Broadway in Chicago’s Oriental Theatre |
| Nov. 29 | St. Louis, MO | Peabody Opera House |
| Dec. 1 | Denver, CO | Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre |
| Dec. 3 | Phoenix, AZ | Orpheum Theatre |
| Dec. 4 | Los Angeles, CA | Saban Theatre |
| Dec. 5 | San Francisco, CA | SHN Curran Theatre |
| Dec. 6 | San Francisco, CA | SHN Curran Theatre |
Contact: Karen Cole, 207.581.1803