Theatrical thriller ‘Witchland’ to haunt Palm Springs next month

Palm Springs’ newest theater company is hosting the edgy off-Broadway-bound play “Witchland,” beginning a monthlong run in early February, the Revolution Stage Co. announced. 

Billed as “the scariest play on the boards,” playwright Tim Mulligan’s “Witchland” is following a lauded engagement in San Diego. The show moves to RSC ahead of its off-Broadway debut this April.

“Witchland,” Mulligan’s first play and directed by Richard Blake, “is a new and exciting theatrical experience, not your normal playgoing experience,” according to RSC. “Combining elements of traditional storytelling with immersive haunted elements, … Blake demands patrons are met at the entrance by hazmat-suited individuals, using Geiger counters to determine who may enter the theatre. Theatre goers sign a waiver to enter his theatrical landscape.”

The plot of “Witchland” is based on Mulligan’s experiences during his formative years in Richland, a small town in eastern Washington known as “the most toxic place in the Western Hemisphere,” according to RSC. “The play tells the story of a family who moves to the town, which is plagued by decades of misfortune and terror. Is the terror due to the nearby nuclear reactor? Or something more sinister? And what about that mysterious woman who lives across the street, alone in her run-down government home, with a pile of mysterious sticks in front of her home? Is she actually a witch or another victim of … WITCHLAND?”

The play is part of RSC’s inaugural season. The company’s 130-seat theater is at 611 S. Palm Canyon Drive. On-site parking, a full liquor bar and an ice-cream station are among the venue’s amenities.

A preview of “Witchland is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. Opening night is 7 p.m. Feb 7.

Thereafter until March 2 performances are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7 p.m.; Saturday matinees on Feb. 10 and  March 2 at 2 p.m.; Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m.; and Sundays Feb. 18 and 25 at 7 p.m.

Mulligan and Blake will participate in a “Talkback” question-and-answer event following the evening performance on Feb. 10.

Tickets sell for $45, $35 and $25 with group discounts available. Information on ticket sales and seating is available by calling 760-318-4115 or online at www.revolutionstagecompany.com/witchland.