- Performances: 1,295.
- Open / Close: December 5, 1941 – December 30, 1944
- Theater: John Golden Theatre.
- Fun Fact #1: There was a successful British film based on “Gaslight” that came out in 1940. When the American studio MGM bought the rights for a remake, they included a clause in the contract that all existing prints of the British film needed to be destroyed. They were not successful and you can watch the 1940 film on YouTube (see below). The irony of a studio trying to “gaslight” the public that there wasn’t a previously produced film has been pointed out by many
- Fun Fact #2: More than any other classic theatrical work, the title and character names of this same basic story have been changed numerous times. The original play is “Gas Light” with a space; modern revivals have removed the space. Though produced on Broadway as “Angel Street,” the play was discovered by Vincent Price under the name “Five Chelsea Lane.” The protagonists have been the Manninghams, the Walbrooks and the Antons. All of these changes have been made apparently to try to make the basic archetypes seem more in tune with the targeted audience, an interesting twist of art for commercial consideration.
Podcast
What could be more terrifying than to think you’re going insane? That basic horror makes “Angel Street” the perfect show to talk about during spooky season. Originally produced in London as “Gas Light” and adapted for the screen (twice) as “Gaslight,” this tale of a husband psychologically abusing his wife in order to access hidden riches was a surprise hit on Broadway in the 1940s. It was so popular, it overcame the monumentally bad timing of opening just days before the Pearl Harbor bombing to ultimately run for more than 3 years.
My guest, Lindsey Zelli, made her debut in the Virginia theater scene with her starring role in “Gaslight” and it was a local smash. Both Zelli and her costar, Axle Burtness, ended up winning Richmond Theatre Community Circle awards for their performances. Zelli and I talk about the challenge of building suspense on stage, finding the emotional beats in such an intense work, and making friends through theater. I lay out Vincent Price’s surprisingly robust early stage career also relate a bonkers story about his Broadway costar Judith Evelyn. There are no jump scares, but it’s still a conversation right in line with the horrifying aesthetic of Halloween.