Review: THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN at THE ALLEY THEATRE

This year, The Alley Theatre, for their “Summer Chills,” is presenting a psychological thriller about a woman who is unsure of exactly what she saw and when she saw it. THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN gives us Rachel Watson, who is recently divorced, an alcoholic, and prone to blackouts, as the central character. It’s a fast-moving story that asks not only “whodunnit”, but when, why, and how. And could the killer be our main character in a blackout? This adaptation of Paula Hawkins’ 2015 novel and the DreamWorks film that followed was written by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel. The stage version was originally produced in 2018. The writing team behind this adaptation also provided scripts such as THE DA VINCI CODE and THE MIRROR CRACK’D FROM SIDE TO SIDE, both recent productions at The Alley Theatre. So the company is working with playwrights who are familiar with them and used to adapting sprawling movies and novels for the stage. The Alley has been stretching its technical team with these shows, whose source material lies outside the world of traditional theater. And the actors are challenged by short cinematic scenes in which they must convey emotions and information at lightning speed, surrounded by ever-changing scenery and digital projection effects. They’ve done remarkable work with these productions, and THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN is no exception.  

Resident company member, Elizabeth Bunch, has to carry the lead role in this production, and she almost never exits the stage as Rachel Watson, the titular GIRL ON THE TRAIN. The part asks her to take on a hard-edged woman who is bottoming out on alcohol, and at the same time, crashing emotionally after a divorce. She’s thrust into the middle of a mystery about a woman who has disappeared, who represents her perfect fantasy of what a couple should be, by catching glimpses of her on a commuter train. Bunch is great at playing conflicted and does so with a surprisingly accessible, warm side. Though Rachel is problematic, we can’t help but like her as she fumbles her way through this mystery that she has to piece together from her own fragmented memory. Playing across from her again (so soon after MISERY) is her husband, Chris Hutchison. He plays the divorced spouse who has remarried and moved on, while Rachel can not. It goes without saying that the two have great chemistry, and they share many brilliant moments. The Alley banks on their connection, and it pays off. If you enjoyed Elizabeth and Chris doing MISERY, this seems like a worthy sequel for them.   

The supporting cast includes Emily Neves as Megan, the lady who vanishes, and Dylan Godwin as her awkward, grieving husband. Emily is a vision of perfection when she shows up in flashback, and it's easy to see how Rachel idealizes her. Dylan’s character is a mess of pent-up feelings, and it’s fun to watch him lose control. David Rainey is the hard-boiled detective piecing everything together, and he gets a really fun revelation about halfway through the show. The actor almost throws it away, and it is a brilliant, matter-of-fact delivery that made me smile. Christopher Salazar is the questionably overinvolved therapist, and he comes off as both sleazy and sweet. I am not sure how he manages that, but he does. Michelle Elaine is the “new wife,” and her turn is playing convincingly appalled at the presence of her husband’s ex at every turn. She seethes appropriately. This company is having a great time with a thriller, and it shows. I always feel like the “Summer Chills” is when these actors get to play! 

Casey Stangl directs the show with a fast pace and cinematic staging. She is helped in this by Klara Zieglerova’s scenic design, which opts for a sleek, modern feel, using surprising materials such as polycarbonates that can be reflective, opaque, or simply dark at any moment. It's not typical beauty; it's almost as if the characters are in a world of shimmering rust, but that works. It looks like a mystery, a modern one. Trevor Rion Scoggin-Bowen does well with the costuming, and Elizabeth Harper dazzles with her lighting design that incorporates LEDs that almost look like lasers. The set moves around quickly, flying in or coming up from the floor, and the projections from Yee Eun Nam work wonders in conjunction with Paul James Pendergast’s sound design. This technical team is always moving in new and exciting directions, and THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN looks amazing. It’s definitely not traditional theater design, and this sort of piece demands that. 

If I were going to kvetch about anything in this iteration of the story, it would be the obvious challenge of adapting a psychologically dense book for the stage. Paula Hawkins had the advantage of going into her heroine’s mind, and on a three-quarter thrust, nobody can truly pull that sort of deep dive off. The piece does a nice job with flashbacks and misdirects for texture, but the novel can go so much further inside. THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN is turned into surfaces for the stage, and that works when they are this well polished, but book fans may find it lacks the intricacy. Yet overall, this is a fun ride. You feel it’s a worthy mystery, and it's certainly a thrill to see the visuals these artists have come up with. And The Acting Company is having a blast creating this world where we examine an even deeper mystery - how men talk to women. At the end of the day, THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN asks some tough questions about that issue. See if you can catch the gaslighting of women and the tough situations Rachel gets into as a result of her own gender. It may seem like a straightforward mystery, but it does make a stop there that I didn’t expect. That may well be why this work resonates so well. 

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN runs through August 30th at The Alley Theatre downtown. The bar offers signature cocktails and light bites before the show and at intermission. The play runs for two hours and has one fifteen-minute intermission. Photosensitive audience members may need to be aware of lighting effects simulating rushing trains and movement. There are no explicit scenes, but the material is adult in nature.    

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