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<p>SCRANTON &#8212; Poor Jane. She&#8217;s planning errands, getting ready to serve dinner to her friend Edmund, trying to go about her day, and that pesky Ophelia &#8212; hanging out in Jane&#8217;s bath tub, of all places &#8212; won&#8217;t stop interrupting.</p><p>From songs and splashing to bringing up childhood memories of Jane&#8217;s brother, Adam, Ophelia just won&#8217;t leave Jane alone.</p><p>&#8220;She&#8217;s desperate to have her voice heard,&#8221; said Jessica McDonough, of Scranton, who portrays the title character in &#8220;Drowning Ophelia&#8221; in Gaslight Theatre&#8217;s production Jan. 28-31 at The Theater at Lackawanna College in Scranton.</p><p>Rachel Luann Strayer, of Clarks Summit, wrote the script and describes her Ophelia as &#8220;definitely inspired by the literary character &#8230; but that&#8217;s not her sole capacity.&#8221;</p><p>So, yes, people familiar with the Ophelia Shakespeare created as the Prince of Denmark&#8217;s scorned lover in &#8220;Hamlet&#8221; will recognize hints of her language, as when Strayer&#8217;s Ophelia scoops up a piece of greenery Jane had intended for the dinner-with-Edmund salad and makes one of her famous herb and flower references.</p><p>But when she puts the leaf in her mouth and Adam makes her spit it out &#8212; because it could be poison ivy and their parents will never let him babysit again if she poisons herself &#8212; audiences will realize there are lots of layers to this tale.</p><p>&#8220;I knew the story I wanted to tell,&#8221; Strayer said in a telephone interview, crediting Juanita Rockwell, her mentor from the Wilkes University&#8217;s creative writing program, with helping her discern she wanted Ophelia to be part of it.</p><p>&#8220;Once I got Ophelia in a bath tub,&#8221; Strayer said, &#8220;the rest of the story told itself.&#8221;</p><p>Speaking of the claw-foot tub on the stage at Lackawanna College, during performances it will contain about 20 gallons of water that will start out at a temperature of 110.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s really comfortable at first; then it cools off and gets chilly,&#8221; said McDonough, who has encountered the water at some, but not all, rehearsals. Seriously, she said, audience members may want to bring rain ponchos. When her character gets rambunctious, anyone seated nearby could get soaked.</p><p>During a recent dress rehearsal, there was no water in the tub but McDonough managed to do some realistic splashing without it. Meanwhile, Jeremy Kemmerer, of Clarks Summit, as Edmund, arrived for one dinner with Jane wearing armor &#8212; which didn&#8217;t bend, so he couldn&#8217;t sit down &#8212; and for another dinner dressed as a well-to-do gentleman from the 19th century.</p><p>Tim McDermott, of Scranton, as Adam, galloped like a horse to entertain his imaginative little sister, and wrestled &#8220;crocodiles&#8221; to please her. Since Alicia Nordstrom, who plays Jane, wasn&#8217;t available, stage manager Helen Kaucher, of Laflin, stood in, portraying a Jane who could barely hear herself think over Ophelia&#8217;s insistent clamor.</p><p>Rachel Strayer, the playwright, wasn&#8217;t there. She attended the first three rehearsals, answered lots of questions from the cast, and then left the production in the hands of director Jonathan Strayer, her husband. She&#8217;ll see the finished product for the first time Thursday.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m really excited to see it,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And I really hope audiences will open themselves to the experience and enjoy the humor while connecting with the important story underneath.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Jessica McDonough, of Scranton, portrays Ophelia during rehearsal for Gaslight Theatre Company&#8217;s production of &#8216;Drowning Ophelia.&#8217; When the tub is full of water during performances, audience members may want to have a rain poncho handy. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_ophelia1-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Jessica McDonough, of Scranton, portrays Ophelia during rehearsal for Gaslight Theatre Company&#8217;s production of &#8216;Drowning Ophelia.&#8217; When the tub is full of water during performances, audience members may want to have a rain poncho handy. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_ophelia2-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Edmund (Jeremy Kemmerer, of Clarks Summit), right, talks with Jane (Helen Kaucher, of Laflin) at the dinner table as Ophelia (Jessica McDonough) watches from her bathtub during rehearsal of &#8216;Drowning Ophelia&#8217; at the Theater at Lackawanna College in Scranton. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_ophelia2-3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Edmund (Jeremy Kemmerer, of Clarks Summit), right, talks with Jane (Helen Kaucher, of Laflin) at the dinner table as Ophelia (Jessica McDonough) watches from her bathtub during rehearsal of &#8216;Drowning Ophelia&#8217; at the Theater at Lackawanna College in Scranton. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_ophelia3-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ophelia (Jessica McDonough), left, clutches Adam (Tim McDermott, of Scranton) during rehearsal of &#8216;Drowning Ophelia&#8217; at the Theater at Lackawanna College in Scranton. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_ophelia3-3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Ophelia (Jessica McDonough), left, clutches Adam (Tim McDermott, of Scranton) during rehearsal of &#8216;Drowning Ophelia&#8217; at the Theater at Lackawanna College in Scranton. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_ophelia4-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Edmund (Jeremy Kemmerer, of Clarks Summit), right, greets Jane as he arrives for dinner, dressed as a knight, during rehearsal of &#8216;Drowning Ophelia&#8217; at the Theater at Lackawanna College in Scranton. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_ophelia4-3.jpg</photo3><caption3>Edmund (Jeremy Kemmerer, of Clarks Summit), right, greets Jane as he arrives for dinner, dressed as a knight, during rehearsal of &#8216;Drowning Ophelia&#8217; at the Theater at Lackawanna College in Scranton. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_ophelia5-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Jane (Helen Kaucher, of Laflin, standing in for Alicia Nordstrom), left, answers the telephone as Ophelia (Jessica McDonough) watches from her bathtub during rehearsal of &#8216;Drowning Ophelia&#8217; at the Theater at Lackawanna College in Scranton. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_ophelia5-3.jpg</photo4><caption4>Jane (Helen Kaucher, of Laflin, standing in for Alicia Nordstrom), left, answers the telephone as Ophelia (Jessica McDonough) watches from her bathtub during rehearsal of &#8216;Drowning Ophelia&#8217; at the Theater at Lackawanna College in Scranton. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>IF YOU GO</strong></p><p><strong>What:</strong> &#8216;Drowning Ophelia,&#8217; an original play by Rachel Luann Strayer</p><p><strong>When:</strong> 7:30 p.m. Jan. 38, 39, 30 and 2 p.m. Jan. 31</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Theatre at Lackawanna College, 501 Vine St., Scranton</p><p><strong>Tickets:</strong> $15 for adults; $12 seniors and students</p><p><strong>Note:</strong> Tickets can be purchased through the Community Concerts Box Office by phone at 570-955-1455 or in person during box office hours 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday or anytime online at ticketfly.com. Note: seating is general admission and limited, so no reservations will be taken for this production.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

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Gaslight Theatre presents regional playwright Rachel Luann Strayer’s ‘Drowning Ophelia’ Jan. 28-31 at the Theater at Lackawanna College in Scranton