Review by M.T. Bennett, Front Row Reviewers
Tucked away in South Salt Lake City is the gem of the historic Parker Theater, and playing right now is a masterful production of The Woman in Black. Based on Susan Hill’s book from 1983, The Woman in Black was adapted by Stephen Mallatratt and debuted in 1987, it played in London’s West End for over 13,000 performances and is the second longest running non-musical play in the West End. In 2012, it got a chilling movie adaptation starring Daniel Radcliff, and now the Salt Lake Valley is lucky enough to have it be part of Parker Theater’s lineup.
A man strides on the stage, his close proximity to the bulb casts a looming shadow, and he begins to read from a manuscript. Suddenly, a heckler tells him how poorly he is doing. You turn around and there is another actor, critiquing the monologue. This small touch instantly pulls all the audience into the production, though we are ignored through the play. The first actor is an old Mr. Kipps (Michael Hohl) who wishes to tell a traumatic ghost story from his youth in order to exorcise the ghost from his life. The critic (Lucas Charon), is actually a young actor hired to help old Mr. Kipps tell his story. What unfolds is their interactions in the production as well as their rehearsals which the audience a ghost story of a younger Mr. Kipps, solicitor, sent to manage the affairs of the deceased Mrs. Drablow and encounters a haunted home and dark secrets.
Director Brinton M. Wilkins did a masterful job at managing the piece and the differing tones of the story. The play draws you into a false sense of security, with the opening scene being humorous and evoked many laughs from the audience. The laughs turn to screams, gasps, and jumps as the show makes a darker turn. Wilkins should be commended for eliciting the absolute best of talent from all areas of production with his direction and vision. The play within a play literary device is excellently portrayed in this production. Helping to create this is Stage Manager Todd Perkins, who pulls it all together into not only a spooky play, but an opus to theater.
A terrifying production like this would fall flat on its face without the proper lighting, which was masterfully managed by Set and Lighting Design and Properties Manager, James B. Parker, who is also the Executive Director of Parker Theater. In the opening scenes, the young actor tries to show old Mr. Kipps how to perform by reciting the monologue himself. The previously funny scene with warm lighting shifts as the young actor moves a few steps forward. The lighting doesn’t change but the angle on his face does. Cloaked in dark shadows, his eyes seem to deepen and become haunting. The lights in the haunted manor are always dim and sickly, throwing looming shadows of window panes that look like bars of a prison. The lighting on this play is complex but clearly was given incredible thought and consideration for every hue and angle. Even the absence of light plays its horrifying part. As such, J.B. Parker is a genius.
The use of properties is well done too since the setting for the play is a stage upon a stage. A large wicker laundry basket is a desk, storage, dresser, and even a cart and pony. As stated in the play, the imagination of the audience has great power and it is used to full effect in imagining marshes, dogs, carts, and ponies. A lot of this wouldn’t be possible without Rebecca L. Fenton’s excellent costume design. Costuming is cleverly accomplished as the old Mr. Kipps ends up playing all the ancillary characters in their rehearsals and must quickly and economically shift between them with a few small changes in appearance and speech. Fenton accomplishes this in fine fashion.
The accents are wonderfully authentic and one can see the work that went into it thanks to Dialect Coach Brett Myers. Both actors speak with British accents but Hohl employs a number of different regional accents and voices to show his different characters. It is very impressive how he nails each of them, likely thanks to great coaching by Myers.
Smoke rises and strobes reveal the Woman in Black in one place and then another, and all these wonderful touches were done by Visual Effects Manager Kristin Hafen (who, by the way, plays The Woman in Black.) I was astounded by the first appearance of the Woman in Black, glowing eerily and silently gliding into our nightmares. A lot of productions don’t ever show the face of the monster and leave it up to one’s imagination to provide the frightening details. This play doesn’t need that as Hair and Makeup Designer Shannara Jones makes the Woman more terrifying than one could imagine. Malevolent, evil, angry, and awful to behold.
Always-offstage “Mr. Bunce”, in the story of the play is the sound designer and stage manager, giving the audience the “miracle of recorded sound” and assisting in providing immersion for the ghost story. In truth, “Mr. Bunce” is the sound design team of Michael Hohl and Spencer Hohl. I was wondering if this play was going to be as scary as promised, as it starts off as a “sometimes funny/sometimes serious well-done play”. But as the show begins, there is a moment when the lights go dark, then flash. A cacophony of sounds echoes from one side, then the other, and then all around you, and the audience screams. I realized…this is going to be terrifying. I was ready to be thrilled and scared.
M. Hohl and Charon do an incredible job at carrying this narrative through their interactions. Charon plays the young advising actor and the younger version of Mr. Kipps in their rehearsals. He is funny, quick, haunted, and earnest in all his emotions. You feel his terror as he fights his fears and the ghostly apparition. You pray for him to have strength as he desperately fights to pull a dog being drowned in a bog; Charon’s ability to show us what isn’t there is masterful. It is a big task to be an actor who plays an actor that is supposed to exemplify the power of the stage, but Charon is just the person for the job.
M. Hohl also has no small job playing the narrator as well as a myriad of characters and voices. Each one is distinct and believable as their own role. It also can’t be easy to be a talented actor who is playing a talentless actor. Though you truly see old Mr. Kipps grow as an actor and improve as the production progresses, till “an Irving” truly is made of him by the end. Parker Theater is a place where one can always expect the greatest talent and it is on display with The Woman in Black.
Hafen as the Woman could have been a real ghost. She is silent, subtle, and looms at the start, until she turns angry, violent, and vindictive. I have to warn you. The Woman is not confined to the stage alone. This is made apparent from the start. With that knowledge, as a member of the audience, you are always wondering if she might be right behind you. Wonderfully frightening.
In a review of a previous production I explained some of the history of Parker Theater’s Art Nouveau building. Parker Theater is a wonderful establishment, with quaint settings. I love the themed concessions for each play. This one had “Black Lavender Soda”, and “Death by Chocolate Sea Salt Truffles”. Before I went to claim my ticket, I visited the adjoining soda shop, got a brownie sundae (brownies made in house)–delicious! The counter of the ticket window very subtly contains several of “Best of State” medals, a testament to the talent one is about to witness. This local theater’s attention to detail makes me come back again and again.
For this spooky season you can’t do better than The Woman in Black. A chilling Gothic tale suitable for older children and above–it’s sure to give you nightmares and reflect on what really makes a good ghost story. Don’t delay because Parker Theater has prepared a masterpiece of the macabre, a terrifying tale will make you laugh, make you scream, and make you sleep with the light on.
Parker Theater presents The Woman in Black, Based on Susan Hill’s novel, adapted by Stephen Mallatratt.
Parker Theater, 3605 State St, South Salt Lake, UT 84115
Friday and Saturday from September 28–November 2, 2024 7:30 pm, Saturday matinee 3:30 pm.
Tickets: Adult $27, Children (ages 4-17) $18
Phone: 801-532-6000
Email: boxoffice@parkertheatre.org
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