GREY HOUSE

Review|Celia Ipiotis

At one point, my date nearly hopped into my lap during Grey House at the Lyceum Theatre. But that marked the primary scare in an otherwise weirdly Gothic tale of a house inhabited by an adult and handful of children perhaps visiting from the Village of the Damned.

After spinning out of control in a car butted by a deer on a dark and blizzardy night, a guy and gal seek refuge in a rambling house. Although no one appears to be home, the land line telephone wires are sliced. With contact from the outside eliminated, the sight of young people filing down the staircase is both surprising and expected.

Directed by the award-winning Joe Mantello, there’s plenty of hide and seek on stage, not just by the cast but the contents of the frig.

Written by Levi Holloway the characters rarely rise beyond a flatness lifted only when they sing haunting songs composed by Or Matias. Inside the parlor, a vinyl record spins round on the record player compelling the children to sing along with the sensationally mysterious sounding music. 

Relatively predictable, few surprises jigger the plot. That said, a few surprises unfold under the sure handed Mantello aided by Camille A. Brown’s spirited choreography edged in reckless abandon.

Haunting, compelling songs creep into the plot. These musical interludes deepen the story’s bizarreness and help define the characters.

A super actor, Laurie Metcalf is lost in this show. She retains a monotone voice and depression that casts its shadow on the proceedings. Surrounded by a clutch of tangy youngsters led by Sophia Anne Caruso and Millicent Simmonds as well as the hapless couple Tatiana Maslany and the acrobatic Paul Sparks, Metcalf’s rule is ultimately undermined by curious and curiouser events.

The properly ruined house by Scott Pask heaves and creaks, inhaling unanswerable questions and exhaling darkness tinged by the ridiculous.

Loose in construction, the committed cast guides the audience to a perplexing conclusion.

EYE ON THE ARTS, NY — Celia Ipiotis