Angel Street

media release: Whose reality is the truth? Stoughton Village Players presents Patrick Hamilton’s psychological thriller Angel Street on March 16, 17, 18 and 23, 24, and 25, at 7:30 pm with a matinee on March 19 at 2:00. All performances will take place in the Stoughton Village Players Theater. This will be the company’s first production of Angel Street.

This suspenseful thriller, set in the 1920s, follows the newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Manningham who are five months into their marriage and living in their Victorian home with their housekeepers Elizabeth and Nancy. There’s trouble in paradise when Mrs. Manningham, who is already on edge, becomes perturbed at her husband’s inappropriate behavior with their staff and his mysterious and unexplained disappearances from the house. Already isolated from her husband, Mrs. Manningham’s anxiety is heightened further when she appears to be the only one in the house who notices the gaslights dimming – leading her to question her own sanity.

Angel Street is the fifth adaptation of the play Gas Light by Patrick Hamilton. The debut run in 1938 London run at The Richmond Theatre and Apollo Theatre was not initially successful. However, on Broadway in 1941, with Vincent Price and Judith Evelyn starring in the cast, it was a hit and ran for 1,295 total performances. Almost a century later it endures as one of the longest-running non-musicals in Broadway History. In 1944 the play was adapted into the movie Gaslight starring Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotton, and Angela Lansbury in her first feature film. 

The term gaslighting: ‘Using psychological methods to convince someone they are insane’ originated with this show and was named Word of the Year by Merriam Webster.

Stephanie Robey directs this production. The intimate ensemble cast includes both new and familiar faces to the Stoughton Village Players stage including: Angy Gagliano as Mrs. Manningham, Joshua Paffel as Mr. Manningham, Kathy Horton as Elizabeth, Angelina Hassler as Nancy, and Brian Amidei as Rough.

The Stoughton Village Players is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) educational foundation. Based in Stoughton, Wisconsin the Stoughton Village Players was founded in 1973. The Players offer a communal performance space for live drama, comedy and music while fulfilling the artistic needs of the local Stoughton community