Buzzy Broadway Horror Teases Intrigue In The Shadows

So does the slow burn pay off for an intermission-free 100 minutes? Unfortunately, “The Grey House” misses two mechanics vital to its revelations: 1) an overarching propulsion that lets it progress as a thriller and 2) a more realized human psychodrama. Without giving away too much, the dramatic reckonings don’t land as character-based reveals as intended. The climax fusses over symbolic spectacle in a manner that obstructs, not compliment, the themes of human costs, injustice (specifically against female bodies), and contrition.

“The Grey House” script leaves a blueprint open to different creative visions. Even if you’re dissatisfied or frustrated with this particular Broadway vision of “The Grey House,” the show is a curious meal. This production may not be the watershed Broadway horror. Might attendees, from theatergoers to horror moviegoers, still find treats in this umpteenth cabin-in-the-woods tale (even if they deem it chuckle-worthy camp like some of my audience members)? For a live experience, it might not impress but it sustains itself through its atmosphere and cast. As of now, it’s difficult to forecast how “The Grey House” may influence the untapped horror potential on Broadway-sized stages. Somewhere, there are unproduced possibilities waiting in the cobwebbed drawers.

“The Grey House” is running at the Lyceum Theatre in NYC.