The Bells, by Theresa Rebeck, is a complex and absorbing play about the American frontier. Set in a remote Yukon outpost that was a bustling mining town at the height of the Alaskan Gold Rush, the play centers on a group of loners and misfits still eking out a living in the vast Alaskan wilderness. In their midst is Mathias, innkeeper in a ghost town, who is haunted by a secret that changed the direction of his life. This epic and deeply personal play confronts questions of guilt and responsibility while spinning an engaging fireside tale.

The Bells was inspired by Leopold Lewis’s popular nineteenth-century melodrama of the same name. Rebeck kept the central idea of a man haunted by a deplorable act, but otherwise significantly re-imagined the story. The play is about people driven by greed and the instinct for survival, and how those urges can shape the human spirit and imagination. It works on many levels: as a father/daughter play, as a ghost story, and as a cautionary tale about America's frontier mentality. Rebeck deftly moves the play from a character-driven story about hard luck and circumstance into a mystical, almost surreal tale of self-realization. Its epic nature lends itself to a highly theatrical interpretation, and the play is ideally suited to the grand scale of McCarter’s Matthews Theatre, where its world premiere will be performed under Emily Mann’s direction.

The study guide for The Bells includes information to help place the play in context, interviews with the artists who helped create it, and resources for additional research. We hope it will help make your trip to McCarter an even richer experience.

The Bells
March 22-April 10, 2005

written By
Theresa Rebeck

directed by
Emily Mann

Study Guide
McCarter Theatre Center

Web Design
Dimple Parmar