CHELSEA — Get ready for some Wuthering Frights.
A Halloween-themed Upright Citizens Brigade show is offering a "spooky" comedic take on Gothic romances penned by the likes of Charlotte Brontë and Daphne du Maurier.
In "The Bride of Murdery Heights," three sisters based on authors Charlotte, Anne and Emily Brontë attend a ball thrown by the Mr. Rochester-esque Lord Darkcastle in the fictional village of Dunfordthirethistletonthwaite, explained writer and cast member Jaime Lutz, 26.
The girls’ mother is bent on marrying them off — though Darkcastle may or may not have a wife locked in the attic, she said.
Lutz's fellow writers were inspired by their shared admiration for the genre.
"When we talked, we found out we all loved these old Gothic romance books," Lutz said. "The narrative is kind of…a riff on 'Jane Eyre,' and characters from other Gothic romances, too."
Statues of faceless children, unexplained screams and an unhinged housekeeper will feature prominently in the show, which Lutz and her troupe perform at UCB Chelsea, at 307 W. 26th St., on Oct. 19 and Oct. 31.
The character Lutz plays — based on Emily Brontë — is "always at the risk of dying… [and] irresistible to men in sort of a 'Manic Pixie Dream Girl' way," she said.
But viewers don’t have to be fans of the 19th century authors to enjoy the show, Lutz noted.
"Gothic romances are everywhere — they’re basically the early prototypes for haunted-house movies," she said. "We do have a lot of specific jokes that people who are fans of the Brontës will get, but they’re sort of just like icing on top of the cake."
