By Chelsea Mortensen
Springville Playhouse has set up its new haunt at Merit Preparatory Academy’s adapted black box space that is sure to give you both goosebumps and giggles with The Haunting of Hill House. Based on the novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson and adapted by F. Andrew Leslie, the play tells the story of Dr. John Montague (Gregory Rampton) inviting a small group of guests to help satisfy his scientific interest in the supernatural. The group first treats this like a delightful game, only to find that they are the ones being played with. Things are further complicated with the arrival of Dr. Montague’s bold wife (Brooklyn Eden) and her companion/suspected-lover, who have intentions of their own.
Niels Adair’s no-nonsense gravitas as Mr. Dudley carries a much-needed sense of the high stakes while simultaneously providing a straight-man to the ensemble’s humor at his own expense. Although his stage time is comparatively short, he provides a sense of the house’s history and true nature.
The vulnerable Eleanor Vance (Lizzy Phipps) shines on stage like an exposed wire. It is impossible to look away as Hill House pulls her deeper and deeper into her hidden fears and internalized trauma. Her dark journey is made all the more powerful by Eleanor’s kindness and desperate desire to feel belonging and approval.
Tia Rider makes her stage debut as Theo, the down-to-earth friend who feels very much like the glue holding the diverse group together. She quickly befriends the vulnerable Eleanor and supports Dr. Montague’s authority/ Rider’s performance helps keep the peace when everyone’s different reactions to the house begin to strain relationships.
Hunter Kozak brings a youthful vigor to Luke Sanderson. He makes a wonderful sidekick to Dr. Montague’s investigations and a humorous foil to Eleanor’s anxiety. At first, he seems like any other easy-going young adult along for the ride, but soon becomes heroic in his own way when the house becomes increasingly sinister.
Rampton is warmly sincere and infectiously curious as Dr. John Montague, so that even when things slip out of his control and take a turn for the worse, the audience is continuously rooting for him to rally everyone’s spirits and somehow make the best of this dangerous experiment.
Brooklyn Eden’s late arrival as Mrs. Montague brings new conflict and humor to the situation. She is delightfully and believable pretentious as she asserts her desire to commune with the house with her medium in an attempt to conquer its evil with her condescending “pure love”. This and her complicated relationship with her husband raise interesting questions about whether or not it is possible to have pure intentions when faced with forces one cannot understand.
Arthur Parker, as played by Matthieu Kohl, brings a masculine, authoritative presence in a room full of dreamers and the damaged. His bravado in the face of supernatural designs and his unquestioning loyalty to the eccentric Montague ramps up the tension as the show escalates to its climax.
The most original and especially spooky additions to the cast are the ghosts of Hill House. The Demonic Monk (Kip Anderson) feels like a trapped, tortured spectre as he stalks across the stage with a disturbing twitch in his fingers. Carli Sorenseon in the role of Insidious Nun is wonderfully, spine-chillingly unnerving as she stares into the souls of the audience members in the eerie scene transitions, pulling them into the action and making them feel that Hill House is watching, even when she is offstage. Katie Phipps haunts the aisles, sometimes coming close enough for her ghostly gown to brush against an audience member, with an eerie grace befitting the old mansion.
Director Jake Sorensen works to balance the horror and the humor with quick quips and hair-raising haunts. His lighting and sound design brings in a distinctly chilling aura with cool blue lights with shocking revelations of red and well-placed, disquieting musical underscoring. This, complete with the thumping and screeching supernatural sounds at any given moment, truly keep the audience on the edge of their seats. The costumes, by Ramona Swapp and Tanne Hjorth, do an excellent job of putting the story in a more contemporary time while giving the environment an almost ageless quality. With distinct color schemes and silhouettes for each character, it is very easy to quickly pinpoint each of the distinct personalities within a large cast.
The Haunting of Hill House is certainly spooky, but there are also lots of opportunities to chuckle and children who enjoy ghosts will enjoy it as much as the adults.
Springville Playhouse Presents The Haunting of Hill House by F. Andrew Leslie.
Merit Preparatory Academy, 1440 West Center Street Springville, UT 84663
Oct 4-26, 2019 Monday, Fri-Sat, 7:30 PM
Tickets: $8-10
www.springvilleplayhouse.com
Haunting of Hill House Facebook Event
Springville Playhouse Facebook Page
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