Great Lakes Theater to Present BLITHE SPIRIT Pre-Show Event on Haunted Hanna Theatre, 3/2

Great Lakes Theater (GLT), Cleveland's Classic Company, will present an extraordinary pre-show discussion and performance event exploring the paranormal and the haunted history of the Hanna Theatre (and PlayhouseSquare's other theaters), in conjunction with the company's production of Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit, at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare on Saturday, March 2nd. Commencing at 6:15 p.m. with a pre-show discussion featuring nationally renowned paranormal expert Mary Ann Winkowski, the event will culminate with a performance of Great Lakes Theater's main stage production of Blithe Spirit at 7:30 p.m. as part of GLT's Classics and Conversations audience engagement series.

Are theaters really haunted...or is that just a superstition? Ever wonder what happens after lights go dark? Explore the paranormal and the haunted history of the Hanna Theatre (and PlayhouseSquare's other theaters) in a "spirited" pre-show discussion as nationally renowned expert Mary Ann Winkowski - a paranormal investigator, author, lecturer, television/radio personality and consultant for the hit CBS show Ghost Whisperer - provides answers from a lifetime of experience. Learn more about Mary Ann's surprising "spiritual" interactions with a myriad of memorable ghosts.

Tickets for the discussion/performance event range in price from $25-$60 and are available by calling (216) 241-5490 x302 or by ordering online at www.greatlakestheater.org/event/spirit.

Great Lakes Theater, Cleveland's Classic Company, has brought the pleasure, power and relevance of classic theater to the widest possible audience since 1962. The first resident company of PlayhouseSquare, GLT celebrates its 31st year in downtown Cleveland this season. On its main stage and through its extensive education programming, Great Lakes Theater positively impacts 100,000 adults and students annually.

Mary Ann Winkowski, a paranormal investigator, was born in Cleveland, Ohio and has been communicating with earthbound spirits for most of her life. Her earliest memories include talking to spirits of the deceased as if they were living people and helping these entities cross over into the White Light.

Over the course of work as a paranormal investigator, Mary Ann's reputation has spread. She is a consultant to the CBS hit television show Ghost Whisperer, has appeared on numerous TV and radio news programs, and spoken at countless lectures. What she once did between raising two daughters, foster parenting and pet grooming has now become a fulltime vocation.

Still living and working primarily in the Cleveland area, Mary Ann has offered her abilities to those in need as far away as New Mexico, St. Lucia, and Scotland. In When Ghosts Speak: Understanding the World of Earthbound Spirits (Grand Central Publishing, October 2007), Mary Ann shares a lifetime's worth of information about the spirit world and reveals her often surprising interactions with some memorable ghosts. Mary Ann shows the human side of the paranormal -- stories about ghosts told from the perspectives of the ghosts themselves - and teaches us how we can coexist peaceably with the spirits that surround us.

Visit Winkowski's website for more information.