NEW YORK, July 22 – Do you believe in ghosts? In “The Ones Upstairs,” a new comedy by Jillian Stevens, lost loved ones are not as far away as you might think—perhaps just up a flight of stairs. This heartwarming tale features the playful and wistful relationship between the living and the dead and teaches a difficult but important lesson about letting go. Theater for the New City’s Dream Up Festival will present the world premiere of “The Ones Upstairs” August 28 to September 2.

Neil is a 27-year-old who has terrible luck in love. Unbeknownst to Neil, much of his disastrous bad fortune is due to his dead, overbearing, quick-tempered mother, Elaine, who likes to meddle in his love life. Also unbeknownst to Neil is Elaine’s posthumous relationship with Neil’s endearingly nosy upstairs neighbor Millie, who can talk to the dead. Drama unfolds as Neil seeks to break his unlucky dating streak, while simultaneously helping his father, Bill, who hasn’t gotten over the death of his wife, find love again. Elaine, Millie and Fonzie (Millie’s smooth-talking late husband) make up a quirky cast of characters who can’t resist interfering in Neil and Bill’s romantic escapades, resulting in sitcom-esque chaos and high jinks. In the end, Elaine makes a sobering discovery about herself and her relationship with her living loved ones, and seeks to set things right from beyond the grave. “The Ones Upstairs” is a touching story that reminds us that letting go is not the same as forgetting, and that grief is sometimes best handled with a laugh.

Starring:

Chance Gabriel Rodriguez, Sarah Quane Smyth, Caren Skibell, Gamal ElSawah, Meagan Stevenson, Gary Kozak, Jacquelyn Claire De Villiers & Bill Meoni

Directed by: Toni Salisbury

Stage Manager: Kaitria Resetar

Producer: Jillian Stevens

Lighting Designer: Maxwell A. Waters

Costume Designer: Alexandra Fokine