The Woman in Black on Broadway?

[RW3]

Posted: 10/9/13 at 9:37pm

Has it?

[blaxx]

Posted: 10/9/13 at 10:02pm

No, never. There was an Off Broadway production years ago, but wasn't that successful.

[RW3]

Posted: 10/9/13 at 10:20pm

Oh. I would love to see a production of it. I've heard that it has been a success in London.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/9/13 at 10:23pm

Is this the same as that awful Daniel Radcliffe movie?

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/9/13 at 10:29pm

I love that awful Daniel Radcliffe movie!

Too many "jump out oat you" scares, but the story is sad and scary ... and i love the setting ... and I even love Radcliffe.

So there.

All of that said, I can't see this working well on stage unless it was a small Off-Broadway setting where the chills might actually work. On a proscenium stage from any distance I would think it would fall flat.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/9/13 at 10:38pm

I think it could be neat as a small chamber musical. I wish someone would write one. I'd love to hear what Michael John LaChiusa would do with a subject like that. It was on my mind while watching the movie with Radcliffe.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 10/9/13 at 11:54pm

best12,

The stage adaptation of the Susan Hill novel has been running in the West End for nearly a quarter of a century, and is second only to The Mousetrap as longest-running...so it must work well on some level at least!

Updated On: 10/9/13 at 11:54 PM

[Owen22]

Posted: 10/10/13 at 12:14am

The play actually only has two characters...or two actors...

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/10/13 at 12:28am

^Which is part of the reason why it has run so long.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/10/13 at 12:39am

Perfect Crime has also been running since forever. Doesn't mean it's actually any good.

[ggersten]

Posted: 10/10/13 at 12:41am

We saw it in London The theatre is tiny. It was filled that night with a school crowd of many 12=15 year olds who were primed to be scared. I'm guessing the theatre maybe holds 200 people?
And there may be more than two actors in the show....
We really enjoyed it - the acting was excellent - the stagecraft was terrific - and there were legitimate scares. I don't see it working in a large theatre - because the mood it sets seems dependent on a small space. That mood would get lost in a larger theatre.

[blaxx]

Posted: 10/10/13 at 1:20am

The stage production works MUCH better than the cheesy film. It has been a huge hit in London and Mexico City for decades.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 10/10/13 at 2:43am

The capacity is about 650.

The play is successful because it is a rehearsal for Kipps to tell his family about his experiences in Eel Marsh House. It becomes a discussion of the way theatre works as well as a ghost story.

SPOILER

The film completely messed up the end of the story- it's most haunting quality is that Kipps must live with the memory of the death of his loved ones- his death in the film ends that suffering prematurely!

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/10/13 at 6:46am

Two characters and 650 in an audience sounds about right. You couldn't put this on a large proscenium stage and have it be effective, IMO.

And I'm sorry to hear they messed with the ending, but having not seen the play, I think the ending of the film is sad and haunting. It always leaves me feeling melancholy because the outcome isn't what is expected in stories like these. I can't compare it to the play, but I can say that it works very well for me.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 10/10/13 at 5:36pm

Saw it in London a few years ago and it was excellent. Though I liked (but didn't love) the film, I thought the stage version was much more compelling as you're seeing and hearing the story being told which if done right, can really be chilling. As others have said, only two actors but they did a fantastic job of conveying mood and atmosphere and some genuine thrills. It plays at the Fortune Theater, a very intimate 432 seat, 3 level house.

I could see this doing well Off-Broadway in a 300-500 seat house at an off-Broadway price point but as others have said you would lose most of the atmosphere in a larger venue.

Updated On: 10/10/13 at 05:36 PM

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 10/10/13 at 8:58pm

Just an idea... but could this work at Circle in the Square?

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 10/10/13 at 9:44pm

Probably not. It needs a backdrop where some effects take place especially towards the end of the play and it's really better if people are facing the front of the stage head on. The upper 3 or 4 rows would also be further back than ideal. The Fortune in London has 3 levels but even the Orchestra has I think at most 10 or 11 rows and all 3 levels are really on top of the action which is what is needed. The Helen Hayes would be the only Broadway house I could see this playing in and even that might be too large to keep the effect.

[blaxx]

Posted: 10/10/13 at 9:51pm

Doubt it will come to Broadway if didn't work Off Broadway.

***SPOILER***

The ending of the play is much better than the film too. Both characters learning they are cursed for life - it's really creepy.

Updated On: 10/10/13 at 09:51 PM

[blaxx]

Posted: 10/10/13 at 9:55pm

And I'm sorry to hear they messed with the ending, but having not seen the play, I think the ending of the film is sad and haunting. It always leaves me feeling melancholy because the outcome isn't what is expected in stories like these. I can't compare it to the play, but I can say that it works very well for me.

The film really doesn't follow the intent of the novel. It is more Canterville than Victorian horror. The novel, original film and especially the stage production are terrifying, not tender or comforting.