‘The Ghost Sonata,’ tonight through March 5*

Caitlin Murphy and Joe Kritzeck rehearse a scene from “The Ghost Sonata.”

Ghosts walk in bright daylight, a beautiful woman is transformed into a mummy and lives in a closet, and the household cook sucks all the nourishment out of the food before she serves it to her victims in the next Saint Mary’s University Department of Theatre Arts presentation March 1-5.
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“The Ghost Sonata,” is one of Swedish playwright August Strindberg’s famous chamber plays. He bases the structure of the play on the sonata, with three movements instead of acts. The play delves into the psyche, casts away superficial masks and reveals that which desires to be hidden: our skeletons in the closet, our private nightmares and ghosts. The characters in “The Ghost Sonata” speak, move and act as if they are part of a dream — or a nightmare. One sees anxious glimpses of the future, another embodies tragedies from the past.

Director Steven Bouler says, “Ultimately the play is about corruption and anxiety, regrets and how we are transformed by those we encounter in life.”

Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 2 and 3, and Monday, March 5. A matinee is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, March 4 — all at the Valencia Arts Center’s Academy Theatre, located at 10th and Vila streets.

Tickets are $8 or $6 for students and seniors and are available at the Performance Center box office, 457-1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays or online at www.pagetheatre.org.