Review Roundup: THE OTHER THING Opens Off-Broadway

THE OTHER THING, written by Emily Schwend and directed by Lucie Tiberghien, makes its world premiere at Second Stage tonight, May 21, following previews from May 12. The production runs through June 7, 2015. The cast includes John Doman, James Kautz, Bhavesh Patel, and Samantha Soule.

Kim is a journalist, writing what she thinks will be a run-of-the-mill article about a father and son team of ghost hunters in rural Virginia. As the three of them pass the evening outside a haunted barn, waiting for spirits to reveal themselves, what begins as just another day at the office soon becomes a night none of them will forget. In the paranormal world, the ghosts you hunt may be closer than you think.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Charles Isherwood, The New York Times: "The Other Thing," a new play by Emily Schwend, spikes a ghost story with a twist of feminism. That unusual recipe gives the play a certain novelty, but Ms. Schwend's dark drama...ultimately comes across as preposterous. Of course tales of ghosts, zombies, vampires, werewolves and more garden-variety freaks are a strong draw on television, so Ms. Schwend's play, about a reporter profiling a renowned ghost hunter, qualifies as on-trend, even if such tales tend to be more satisfyingly chilling on screen.

Marilyn Stasio, Variety: Watch out for Kim, the protagonist of "The Other Thing," Emily Schwend's slow-to-launch but gratifyingly sanguinary play about ghost hunters - and the ghosts who come when they call. And watch out for Samantha Soule, who gives a mesmerizing performance as a woman in constant battle with her own demons. What you really have to watch out for, though, is giving a ghost a good reason to pay you a visit...Doman (catch him in "Gotham") makes a colorful character of the chatty old ghost hunter, but he's an awful bore, and the playwright lets him go on at unendurable length and to no purpose, since he doesn't have any good ghost stories to tell anyway...Soule has a riveting onstage presence, and when polite, deferential Kim suddenly strides out in a more vibrant persona and asks the audience if they want to hear "a real ghost story," the whole house applauds.

Sandy MacDonald, Time Out NY: The first half of The Other Thing is mostly talk and exceedingly tame. By way of research, Kim has embedded herself with a couple of hick ghost hunters -- a know-it-all father and his resentful adult son (James Kautz and John Doman) -- on a nightlong vigil in rural Virginia...Clutching her stomach and writhing in pain, Kim transforms, Exorcist-style, into a fire-breathing feminist, and not your typical well-intentioned egalitarian: She's subgenus Solano. It's a shame that Schwend limits Kim's dissociative identity disorder to a mere two modes -- mild-mannered or murderous -- because Soule is capable of far subtler shadings.

Joe Dziemianowicz, New York Daily News: Plays about the supernatural don't show up on stage all that often. Emily Schwend's "The Other Thing" is a reminder of why - and how tricky they are to pull off. If every detail isn't perfectly calibrated, what's meant to be spooky misses the mark. Eyebrows, not goosebumps, are raised. That unfortunately happens a number times in this Second Stage Uptown production. And each time, a young woman's personality seems to be overtaken by a revengeful wraith. Then again, she may just be doubled over with wicked abdominal cramps. That's what these presumed possessions look like in this well-acted but gooseflesh-free production directed by Lucie Tiberghien.

Check back for updates!

To post a comment, you must register and login.