[NEohioPAL]Rave Review of Woman in Black "expert thriller" at Actors' Summit

Tue Oct 29 11:38:13 PST 2002

--part1_70.2571c04c.2af0182a_boundary
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

`Woman in Black' is an expert thriller
Eerie ambience and haunting dialogue make Actors' Summit's 2-man a classic 
ghost story

By Kerry Clawson
Beacon Journal staff writer

In The Woman in Black, actors Wayne Turney and Peter Voinovich expertly 
create a gloomy mood as characters Arthur Kipps and a stage actor who attempt 
to ``exorcise'' a tormented ghost.

>From the moment we meet these characters in a cluttered old theater, the dark 
and uncomfortably suspenseful mood is as thick as the imaginary fog in this 
British ghost story. Actors' Summit's two-man play, written by Stephen 
Mallatratt and based on the book by Susan Hill, features spookily descriptive 
storytelling that's perfect Halloween fare.

This thriller needs no horrifying special effects: It has appropriately 
spectral lighting, chilling sound effects, the ghastly apparition herself, 
and -- most importantly -- the frightening power of the audience's 
imagination.

Even the way the fictional stage's backdrop is draped in dark fabric looks 
eerie, as do the various pieces of furniture onstage covered in cloth.

The ghost play's dialogue also has haunting foreshadowing and a couple of 
great surprises. The show has frightened more than 2.5 million people in 
London's West End, where it has played since 1989.
In Turney, we see the deep melancholy of Kipps, who is trying to face his own 
very real demon. In trying to cleanse himself of a ghost, Kipps tells the 
ghost's tale by having an actor (Voinovich) play him, while Kipps assumes a 
number of other roles.

In the story, the solicitor Kipps must go to a small, marshy coastal town to 
settle the estate of deceased client Alice Drablow, a recluse. But no one in 
town wants to talk about what really goes on at her isolated Eel Marsh House.

We can see her ``gaunt'' house and feel the ominous fog surrounding it. We 
feel melancholy, as does the unsuspecting Kipps. The sound of real rain 
pounding down on the Actors' Summit roof Friday night added to the gloom.

Costume designer MaryJo Alexander wasn't exaggerating when she said this is a 
technically demanding show. According to director Neil Thackaberry, the play 
calls for 105 lighting cues, 78 sound cues, two compact disc players, two 
minidiscs and a dual cassette deck.

All of that is joined seamlessly to create many creepy nuances. Yet in a 
snap, the lights come up, and the actors within the storyrepeatedly jolt us 
out of our spooky reveries. Here, playwright Stephen Mallatratt definitely 
toys with us.

Unplanned jarring happened only a couple times opening night, when Turney 
mistakenly cut in on Voinovich's lines twice.
Voinovich's character offers the play's only elements of humor when he 
repeatedly tries to coach Kipps in acting as the unfortunate man attempts to 
get his ghost story out of his system. The young Voinovich looks convincingly 
older with his meticulously parted, slicked hair.

The play's setting appears to be in the early 1900s, with the modes of 
transportation being train as well as ponies and traps (two-wheeled 
carriages). The ghost is shrouded in black, with a head piece that makes her 
appear larger than life. She wreaks havoc on the minds of many, and we feel 
her malevolence.

The haunting effect is felt well after you've left the theater. That's a 
great, old-fashioned ghost story.

--part1_70.2571c04c.2af0182a_boundary
Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

<HTML>`Woman in Black' is an expert thriller
 Eerie ambience and haunting dialogue make Actors' Summit's 2-man a classic ghost story
 
 By Kerry Clawson
 Beacon Journal staff writer
 
 In The Woman in Black, actors Wayne Turney and Peter Voinovich expertly create a gloomy mood as characters Arthur Kipps and a stage actor who attempt to ``exorcise'' a tormented ghost.
 
 From the moment we meet these characters in a cluttered old theater, the dark and uncomfortably suspenseful mood is as thick as the imaginary fog in this British ghost story. Actors' Summit's two-man play, written by Stephen Mallatratt and based on the book by Susan Hill, features spookily descriptive storytelling that's perfect Halloween fare.
 
 This thriller needs no horrifying special effects: It has appropriately spectral lighting, chilling sound effects, the ghastly apparition herself, and -- most importantly -- the frightening power of the audience's imagination.
 
 Even the way the fictional stage's backdrop is draped in dark fabric looks eerie, as do the various pieces of furniture onstage covered in cloth.
 
 The ghost play's dialogue also has haunting foreshadowing and a couple of great surprises. The show has frightened more than 2.5 million people in London's West End, where it has played since 1989.
 In Turney, we see the deep melancholy of Kipps, who is trying to face his own very real demon. In trying to cleanse himself of a ghost, Kipps tells the ghost's tale by having an actor (Voinovich) play him, while Kipps assumes a number of other roles.
 
 In the story, the solicitor Kipps must go to a small, marshy coastal town to settle the estate of deceased client Alice Drablow, a recluse. But no one in town wants to talk about what really goes on at her isolated Eel Marsh House.
 
 We can see her ``gaunt'' house and feel the ominous fog surrounding it. We feel melancholy, as does the unsuspecting Kipps. The sound of real rain pounding down on the Actors' Summit roof Friday night added to the gloom.
 
 Costume designer MaryJo Alexander wasn't exaggerating when she said this is a technically demanding show. According to director Neil Thackaberry, the play calls for 105 lighting cues, 78 sound cues, two compact disc players, two minidiscs and a dual cassette deck.
 
 All of that is joined seamlessly to create many creepy nuances. Yet in a snap, the lights come up, and the actors within the storyrepeatedly jolt us out of our spooky reveries. Here, playwright Stephen Mallatratt definitely toys with us.
 
 Unplanned jarring happened only a couple times opening night, when Turney mistakenly cut in on Voinovich's lines twice.
 Voinovich's character offers the play's only elements of humor when he repeatedly tries to coach Kipps in acting as the unfortunate man attempts to get his ghost story out of his system. The young Voinovich looks convincingly older with his meticulously parted, slicked hair.
 
 The play's setting appears to be in the early 1900s, with the modes of transportation being train as well as ponies and traps (two-wheeled carriages). The ghost is shrouded in black, with a head piece that makes her appear larger than life. She wreaks havoc on the minds of many, and we feel her malevolence.
 
 The haunting effect is felt well after you've left the theater. That's a great, old-fashioned ghost story.
 
 
 </HTML>

--part1_70.2571c04c.2af0182a_boundary--