Katelyn Hummel
Staff Writer
Walking into the Lakewood Playhouse with the intention of viewing the performance of “The Woman in Black,” a staged horror, is a little disconcerting. The building looks small and simplistic from the outside, but the inside seems even more so as the tight lobby fills to its brim with boisterous bodies.
Witnessing the single box-like structure in the center of the stage surrounded on all four sides of the room by seats, one wonders if a fulfilling horror performance can be done well in such a cramped setting.
Within 5 minutes of the lights going down, one forgets that the room is small, and that the stage is an exaggerated box. Within an hour, one forgets that they are in a theatre, much less in the current decade.
Actors Dylan Twiner and Nathan Rice open with a scene between two people discussing the predicament of a nervous man, Kipps [Twiner]. He wishes to know the most appropriate way to stage a performance of a horrible past occurrence that he must learn to live down. His is the story of a ghostly woman in black who turned his world around.
The actors were presented with a difficult task, as the show is comprised of only two acting players and one silent woman in black who shows up periodically in various parts of the room and even the audience. Both characters had to impersonate different people within the story line and each actor pulled off the transition of voices and characteristics with apparent ease, never missing a beat.
The performance was heart-wrenchingly good and believable. The director’s vision was apparent in the movement of the actors as they utilized every inch of the stage, the theatre, and the audience. The story included a twist that rivaled Alfred Hitchcock and is sure to chill audiences more deeply than the cold outdoor air that greets them as they leave the show.
This performance is worth the price of admission, which is approximately $25 per person, but parents should be advised that the spooky content might not be appropriate for younger children. The show runs through March 17.
