By JESSICA NEU
Have you ever considered what would happen if a 1930’s screwball comedy film and a classic horror film crossed paths?
Michael McGovern has brought The Haunted Theatre Company to Pittsburgh as Artistic Director, and audiences will be able to discover where these two genres intersect with the company’s first show of the 2026 season, Wine and Spirits written and directed by McGovern.
The original Haunted Theatre Company dates back to 1861 in Derbyshire, England. The company produced plays and dark comedy shows. In 1866, the theater burned to the ground after five seasons, and several members of the company perished in the fire. Their ashes were collected, but soon vanished. Supposedly, the original artistic director, Erasmus Bartholomew Wicklowe, returned to Germany 50 years later. He appeared as a muse to Theater Practitioner Peter Grundgen, who subsequently led a new Haunted Theatre Company through five seasons. Wicklowe disappeared once again, only to reappear 50 years later in Spain to Reina Castillo. Wicklowe guided Castillo through another 5 years of the Haunted Theatre, and again, after 5 years, the Haunted Theatre Company came to an end.
Before the Haunted Theatre Company and the muse of Wicklowe make their way to Pittsburgh, I had the chance to talk to McGovern about his new, creative, and unique endeavors.
“At this point in my life, I decided I wanted to do a few more plays…I wanted to do one more last hoorah,” McGovern stated. “Many years ago, I had a company called the Edgar Allen Poe Theater and we did Poe adaptations and dark comedies. I was interested in revisiting that genre, but I didn’t want to do the same thing over again So, I came up with the idea to revitalize The Haunted Theatre and started thinking about the name and where the name comes from…The story of the Haunted Theatre Company is a terrible tragedy, the theatre burnt down, their ashes are there, what happened t o them?”
McGovern explained that part of the appeal of the Haunted Theatre Company is realizing that the perished company members “were granted time to come back and be involved in theater again. They have traveled to Germany and Spain and have now come to Pittsburgh. They have come to Pittsburgh because I have done this kind of theater before.”
As for what the audiences can expect when they attend a Haunted Theatre Company production, McGovern said that “the idea is that there may be ghosts in the theater during the performances. They might wander across the stage during intermission. You never know. Then, the ghosts disappear and go somewhere else, and in 50 years, they will appear at another theatre. The ghosts of characters past create a mystical place, and the audience can choose whether to believe it really existed. The Haunted Theatre Company is not immersive theatre in the sense that ghosts are hanging around and jumping out at audience members. It is more of an idea that is implanted in the audience’s minds. Sometimes what you don’t see is scarier than what you do. If you imagine that there are ghosts around you, then that might even be better than actually seeing one. I’m anticipating two of the five ghosts showing up during Wine and Spirits, but we’ll see what happens.”
The whole concept for the Haunted Theatre Company came together quite swiftly. “When I decided that I wanted to do some more plays and explore dark comedies and present work that I never got to do before, the ideas just started unfolding when I decided that I wanted to explore this genre some more. Sometimes these things just happen this way,” McGovern explained.
The Haunted Theatre Company’s first show of the 2026 season is entitled Wine and Spirits. The show is about the Chambers family, who come together for the reading of their Uncle Wallace’s will. “This show has been with me for quite a few years,” McGovern stated. “I guess it’s considered a period piece, even though it only takes place in the 1940’s. I love old 1930’s and 40’s screwball comedies and black-and-white horror movies. So, I mashed the two genres together in this play. I’ve had this show for at least 10 years, maybe longer, and I just wanted to see it live. I wanted to hear the lines. It is certainly the funniest thing I’ve ever written. It’s fast, it has elements of screwball comedy, lots of wise cracks and fast dialogue and of course the horror aspect with the ghosts and zombies that come out at night. The elements are all mashed together and I want the audience to laugh and have a great time. I want it to feel like one of those older movies, and that desire really determined the dialogue, the references I make, and the phrases used, such as “great Caesar’s ghosts,” as well as nods to 1940s actors. There is a character named Piper Banks, and she is a member of the family that comes to the reading of the will. She is glamorous Hollywood starlet and evokes memories from that period. I also have a few zombies that go back to the way zombies were depicted in the 1930’s and 40’s. They talk very hauntingly with one-word sentences. They aren’t the Night of the Living Dead type zombies, but they are still zombies. I want this to be as real to the period as possible.”
Watching the show unfold during rehearsals has been a great source of pride for McGovern. “As the actors get more comfortable, the absurdity of the show starts to come out even more. They are doing things that I never even considered, that are really enhancing the script, and I think that the audience is going to have a ball. I don’t have a profound message in this show, and I am not out here to change the world. I just want the audience to come together, laugh and enjoy themselves. I think laughter is very important in this current moment. Audiences don’t have to think about anything when they are watching this play. It just sort of washes over you. I told the actors, if you are having fun, the audience is going to have fun watching you. At a certain point we break the fourth wall and bring the audience in on the joke and it’s just a fun evening. I’m looking forward to seeing if all the lines are as hysterically funny as I think they are. For me as a playwright and director, the biggest challenge is can I make this piece that transports us back to another era work for a contemporary audience? I hope people who still love those old movies come to see Wine and Spirits, have a good time and appreciate the references and the style of acting.”
As far as McGovern’s own experience with the paranormal, he stated, “I think that every true artist in any field has something guiding them whether they’re aware of them or not.”
He is also looking forward to the future of the Haunted Theatre Company. “I’m definitely doing two productions this year, and that is the goal moving forward. I want every show to be different. I don’t want anything to feel cookie-cutter. I want to have a cornucopia of shows, and I want the audiences to have fun for a couple of hours before they head back into the real world.”
TICKETS AND DETAILS
Haunted Theatre Company’s production of Wine and Spirits opens May 7, 2026 with performances continuing through the 19th at The Margaret Partee Performing Arts Center in Bellvue. Tickets available at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wine-and-spirits-2026-haunted-theater-company-opener-tickets-1984758141028?keep_tld=true
Categories: Show Previews
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