“The Ghosts Of Rowan Oak” at Rutgers-NJIT Theatre Arts Program

In the book, Dean Faulkner Wells retells the ghost stories that her uncle, William Faulkner told during her childhood at Rowan Oak. The frame for these ghost stories used in this musical takes place on the front lawn of the Faulkner estate. Kate, the author and director of the adapted ghost stories brings a troupe of actors, her students, to rehearse for the Faulkner Festival given the next day. A PBS crew from New York shows up to shoot part of her show for a documentary and Kate’s old flame, Richard, arrives with them. Richard immediately tries to take over Kate’s show, rewriting and restructuring her work, until Sam, the real ghost shows up. Sam has been the muse for great writers of that area for years and has picked Kate as his protégée. He delays the acting and PBS crew until sunset, and then brings them into a real ghost love story that takes place during the Civil War. Kate is asked to change the ending of that story by reenacting one of the main characters. If she fails, she and her friends may not live to see the next day, if she succeeds, she will get a full understanding of how to become a real story-teller.