Synopsis by Matthew – thank you!
ACT 1
It’s a dark, foggy, stormy summer night at a remote Cumberland train station. A young man, Walter Hartright of about 30 and very good looking stand there alone, lost. He encounters the local Signal Man and asks him of which direction to Limmeredge Hosue (his train broke down), where he will be starting the following morning as drawing master. The Signal Man does not give the proper answer but instead looks at him in horror. The Signal Man explains to him that the night before he had had a dream that a man like Walter stood there, telling him of danger on the line and to “Mark [his] words, a year to this day, the dead lie on the tracks.” The Signal Man receives a message, and leaves Waltyer alone. Suddenly, from inside the tunnel, a woman dressed in white emerges in great distress and tells him “they” are after her, trying to stop her from telling her secret. But before anything is said, she runs back into the tunnel when a carraige comes towards them. The carraige is driven by a servant of Limmerage House who takes Walter there. (Prologue)
The next morning, Walter is welcomed by Marian Halcombe, the older sister of the house. She explains who she is, and that her parents were dead. Her father was poor and died when she was young. Her mother then remarried to a wealthy man and produced a younger half sister, Laura Fairlie. Laura would inherit the money, of course. They now live with in the house with their hypochndriac uncle, Mr. Frederick Fairlie. Mr. Fairlie warns the young Hartright not to fool around with his nieces (I hope You’ll Like it Here)
Walter meets the young and beautiful Lqaura who resembles the strange woman in white. He and the two sisters go otuside and begin their summer-long drawing lessons. They sing of their perspectives and their heated passions for one another that are secretly in their minds. Laura has feelings for Waltrer, and Walter has feelings for her in return. But Marian, who is much older than Walter, also has feelings for him. (Perpective).
Later on that summer, a lesson ends and, after the two are alone, express their love for one another (I Believe in My Heart). Walter gives Laura a picture he drew of her. Marian finds them and interupts them just before they kiss, but her face shows she knows. Before she can react, the villagers of Limmerage celebrate the coming Autumn harvest (Lammastide)!
Amidst all the celebration , Walter encounters a young girl crying. She explains to him she has seen a ghost of a woman in white in the graveyard…
It is now almost sunset and Walter is in the graveyard, and again encounters the woman in white who says her name is Anne Catherick. She reveals that she is mortal, and that her secret will save a woman’s life. She explains that she was abused by a man named Sir Percival Glyde.
The next day, partly out of jealousy, Marian tells Walter to throw away feelings for Laura beause her father betrothed her to a nobleman, Sir Percival Glyde, the same man who has supposedly abused Anne Catherick.
Glyde comes to Limmerage House and asks Laura to move the marraige from spring to Christmas. She reluctantly accepts.
Glyde’s friend Count Fosco, a fat, eccentric, rodent-loving Italian doctor arrives at Limmerage House to celebrate tyhe engagement, as he is to be Glyde’s best man. Marian comes to welcome him and he is instantly captivated by her.
A celebration occurs in honor of the coming wedding, and Fosco is the life of the party (A Gift for Living Well). But Walter interupts by asking Glyde of Anne Catherick. Glyde expalins that Anne is crazy who lies and that he has only tried to help her, and Mr. Fairlie agrees. When they leave the room, Walter is outraged and sees Glyde as a liar. Marian does not want Laura to “break-up” with Glyde, so she tells Walter that he should leave and, despite his love for Laura, he does. Laura returns to him the drawing he drew of her that summer to remember her by. They kiss for what may be the last time.
The wedding occurs while Anne looks on in the backround. Laura feels seems as though she is walking in her sleep (The Holly and the Ivy).
Behind the wedding celebration, Anne vows that she will help Laura from all the evils of Glyde.
It is now late February or early March, and Laura and Glyde have returned from their honeymoon. They are now at their home Blackwater House, a dark and cold place. They are unsmiling, and Laura is dressed in complete black. Marian acts on her suspicions of torubkem and asks Laura what is wrong. Laura bitterly reveals bruises upon her body caused by her husband. She tells Marian that Glyde merely wants her money.
Marian is distressed and runs out near Blackwater Lake and vows to right the wrong for the sake of Laura (All For Laura).
Policeman roam the grounds of Blackwater house, arresting men who are illegaly hunting. As Marian hides from this, Anne Catherick appears to her, telling her that she’ll reveal the secret the next night to she and Laura.
After Anne leaves her, Fosco appears. His infactuation with Marian seems to be growing.
The next day, Glyde attempts to force Laura into signing a documet without her knowing what it is. Fosco helps Laura by saying Glyde should wait. (The Document)
That night, Marian and Laura go to Blackwater Lake to meet Anne and they are shocked to see how Laura and Anne are almost exact replicas of one another..
As Anne is about to tell them the secret, Glyde and his men come and grab Anne and proclaim they will bring her back to the Asylum. As Anne curses Laura, believing she trapped her, Fosco gives her a tranquelizer.
Marian and Laura are left alone. The two siters comfort eachother in their sadness (Act 1 Finale).
The second act begins later the same night with Laura alone in her room dreaming of Walter, wishing to be with him forever rather than be in her hopeless life (If I Could Only Dream This World Away). Marian comes into the room telling Laura not to be frightened and that she will eavesdrop on Fosco and Glyde to see what their next move is.
Marian goes outside into the stormy weather and finds herself outside the window of the billiard room where Fosco and Glyde are discussing how to rid of Anne and get Laura to hand her estate over to Glyde. Fosco has a stroke of criminal genius and explains to Glyde his “master plan” but the plan is not heard by Marian because of loud thunder cracks. Marian slips and gasps, she runs off…but Fosco already has a good idea of who it was….
Fosco comes to Marian in her room and comments on how wet she is, he gives her a drugged shot of brandy. When she falls into a deep sleep, she has a nightmare of everything that has happened in the show thus far (The Nightmare). After Marian wakes up, she finds Fosco who tells her Laura had dies. He says that Laura was sleep walking and fell from her window. Fosco then gives Marian his card…Marian is stunned.
At THE FUNERAL, Glyde pretends to be very sad by Laura’s death, and starts talking about the will. Mr. Fairlie tells Glyde the estate will be his in June, only a few months away. Marian vows once again that she will right this wrong, knowing, without proof, that Glyde and Fosco killed Laura.
In London, Walter is down-on-his-lick, still carrying the picture he drew of Laura last summer. He realizes that he and Laura can never be and he sells the picture to a pawn shop (EVERMORE WITHOUT YOU).
Marian arrives in London to seek Walter’s help. She searches for him amongst the poor who sing of their LOST SOULS. She sees the picture of Laura and is able to get Walter’s address from the pawn shop owner.
Marian asks Walter, who is still angry with her to bring justice to Laura’s death. She is able to convince him.
Glyde is in London gambling, making Fosco feel very embarrassed. Fosco feels that his plan may have been a little flawed so he asks for is share and leaves Glyde to his gambling (LONDON).
Marian dresses into a prostitute’s scarlett dress to look seductive, as she will now be going to Fosco’s London home to get the document that says where Anne is.
Fosco is preparing to leave England because he does not want to be caught for his crime. He sings of his genius mind to his beloved rodents (YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING). Marian arrives, and THE SEDUCTION begins. After distracting Fosco, she tells him to shave if they are to go any farther. This gives Marian time to find the document and she succeeds. Fosco realizes what she has done and tells her that they could have had such an amazing life together. Despite threats to kill her, he allows her to leave.
According to the document, Anne is in THE ASYLUM in Cumberland. While waiting to see Anne, Marian expresses her love for Walter. He responds by telling her they’ll live the rest of their lives together. They are then led to Anne, only to discover that Anne is not Anne, but is really Laura! They realize that Anne must have been buried as Laura because they look so much alike. They now realize that the only way to find out any information about Anne, they must see their uncle, Mr. Fairle…
BACK TO LIMMERAGE, it is now the first of June, and hasty Glyde is in Limmerage getting Fairle’s signature for the estate. As Glyde leaves, Fairle curses his brother for making him suffer in such a way to become so miserable because he has been forced to keep all the family secrets. Laura, Marian, and Walter run into Fairle’s study, and beg him to tell of Anne. In disbelief, he reveals to Laura and the others that Anne was the illegitemate daughter of Laura’s father, but was not wanted because she was born outside of the marriage. She was only a year older than her half sister Laura, but they could have easily passed for twins. But, Fairlie does not know of Anne’s secret and tells them that if they want anymore answers they must go after Glyde.
Back at the station a year after the beginning of the story. Glyde is impatient as he is waiting for the train to take him to London and then to the continent. The Signal Man is weary of Glyde as he senses that his dream a year ago may now come true. Laura enters dressed like Anne, making him believe she is the ghost. She forces Glyde to reveal the secret. He does, telling that the baby Anne was was pregnant for eight years earlier may not have been his, as she and Anne were in a relationship. Because of his suspicions, he drowned the baby in Blackwater Lake and threw Anne into an asylum. When he realizes that the “ghost” is really Laura, he prepares to kill her. She is rescued by Walter. Glyde runs off into the tunnel and is killed by an oncoming train. The Signal Man sees has dream come true.
Marian frees Walter from his pledge he made for her, and tells him to be with Laura, as that is where he truly belongs. As Walter and Laura again profess their love for one another, Laura takes the shawl that she and Anne wore and places it on Marian. She proclaims to herself that despite her love for Walter, everything she does is for Laura. She now has a secret. Laura and Walter marry and honor Anne at her grave (FINALE).