Harold Cloninger

The Grand Phantom Harold Cloninger

Publisher Marketing: The Keokuk Opera House was built in 1880 and was destroyed by fire on December 6, 1923. It was designed to be the finest theater west of the Mississippi River and was at one time considered the finest theater in the country in an up and coming community of Keokuk, Iowa. The Grand Theater was built in 1925 on the foundation of the Keokuk Opera House. Sixty years later time hasn't been kind to the theater or to Keokuk for that matter. Present day college student, Chris has accepted a Thanksgiving weekend job working as a stagehand at the theater hoping to earn some extra cash. The theater doesn't live up to his expectations, but the prospect of working with his friend Kenny and getting paid for it has all the makings for a fun weekend. All begins well, but soon odd things begin to happen which threatens to reveal a dark past. In 1923 actors, Marta and James are planning their new life but William, Marta's ex-boyfriend and fellow cast mate, is casting a dark cloud over their happiness. Jealousy and resentment are poorly veiled and causing problems within the production. With shows planned for another couple of years Marta and James are looking forward to a time when they can expel William from their lives. Past and present intertwine when the theater's dark secret longs to reveal itself and goes out of its way to make its presence known.