Review: THE TURN OF THE SCREW: THE MUSICAL at Creative Cauldron

The directing, composing, and writing team of the talented Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith are presenting an intriguing revival of their 2015 world premiere of their intense and enigmatically ambitious production of The Turn of the Screw: The Musical. This adaptation from the acclaimed author Henry James’ novella—The Turn of the Screw, is highly provocative and moves along swiftly in a highly coiled and compressed eighty-minutes in the intimacy of the Creative Cauldron Theatre space.

Rarefied, and a bit of a “niche” offering ----(this is intended to be complimentary) ---this fascinating production is decidedly not mainstream material . The Jack Clayton film The Innocents and the Benjamin Britten chamber opera The Turn of the Screw are other popular artistic offerings based on the Henry James novella.

Director Matt Conner succeeds more often than not in integrating all the elements of this classic tale of a governess who must supervise two children ---Flora and Miles (with no outside help from their uncle)--- who seem to be potentially possessed from the ghost/spirits of two people (Quint and Jessel) who inhabited the country manor/Bly House previously.

Energized with eclectic musical styles and a distinctly profound respect towards formal composition and high respect for the literary source material -----alternately intense, haunting, moody, quizzical, unsettling, and probing compositions ----the twenty-eight “songs” in this highly original musical are musically situated a few degrees from conventional song structure. These twenty -eight songs seem to function more as musical motifs that approach an almost operatic feel—albeit as quasi-fragmentary compositional interludes that enhance the narrative (often breathtaking music by Matt Conner and trenchant lyrics by Stephen Gregory Smith) ---and do not really feel like a conventional musical at all. (I often felt that it might have been better to simply present this as an opera-- as the libretto by Stephen Gregory Smith is so spare between the almost seamless musical compositions).

Continual refrains of musical moments interspersed throughout (“Letter 1.2, 3 , 4 and 5”, --"Sleep”, “Sleep 2”, “Moment”, “Moment 2”---etc.) reinforce the continual cycle of variations on themes and increasing psychological and/or supernatural tension (according to which viewpoint is taken by each individual in the audience----).

The musical motifs and compositions are beautifully and penetratingly realized by the orchestra replete with violin, keyboard, and cello. Musical director and conductor Paige Rammelkamp wields mesmerizing musical control and finesse throughout.

The challenge of this production is that, though billed as “The Musical”, this Turn of the Screw is not really a musical but, rather, approaches the feel of an operatic chamber piece. Presented by director Matt Conner with an abundance of haunting images and visual transitions (kudos to technical advisor Edward Wiant and choreographer Bobby Smith for some breathtaking and claustrophobically suspenseful staging moments), immersion is challenged at times in a production that veers between haunting, suspenseful impulses and lofty artistic aspirations.

Susan Derry (reprising her role from the 2015 world premiere) as Ms. Giddens must carry a demanding pivotal role and she never falters in her portrayal of a governess who must meet the demands of guiding her two wards with no help of any kind. Ms. Derry’s acting is full of delicate psychological layers of penetration as her character determinedly tries to navigate the ominous forces surrounding her while tempted to doubt her own sanity. Ms. Derry’s almost ethereal singing voice is  lovely and touching especially in the songs “Tiny Little Ship”, and “Black and White.”

Karen Kelleher as Mrs. Grose, the no -nonsense housekeeper, is perfectly cast as the unassuming woman who is full of ostensible common sense. Ms. Grose has a gorgeous, earthy vocal tone in her singing.

John Poncy, as the headstrong and willfully iconoclastic Miles, possesses an inherent seductive tension with his strong visceral presence and sings with sheer clarity and command. Mr. Poncy’s singing and acting in the song “Make Believe” is evocative and mysterious---with a sharp edge of cunning.

June Tuss as Flora as the young ward ,brings the right tone of brittle precociousness to her role throughout the production.

The evil former inhabitant of the manor, ( who is now involved with kinky and quirky cahoots with the character of Jessel) is played with malicious relish by actor Christian Montgomery. Mr. Montogomery’s gleefully demonic duets with Marcy Ledvinka (as Jessel) are  particularly memorable.

The evil and demonic presence of Jessel, who was the former inhabitant (but is now the current ghostly presence of the foreboding proceedings ---) is perfectly brought to scary life by the fine acting of Marcy Ledvinka.

As the uncle who wants to be kept uninvolved at all times, veteran actor Bobby Smith brings much authenticity and vividness to what could have been simply a stereotypical enigmatic and remote character in lesser hands.

Lighting design by Lynn Joslin is expert at showing the delicate transitions from flashbacks to the present mysterious atmosphere—by virtue of her refined sense of lighting.

Scenic design by Margie Jervis shows a platform in the middle of the stage with a staircase leading to a bedroom (with lit candles) upstage right. Modernistic white sculptured shapes hang from the rafters and are visible from the side (with cut-outs in the structures).

Costume design by Tessa Grippaudo is very authentically tailored with period detail.

Influences I perceived from the production and/or productions that pop up in my “mind’s eye” as material that displays similar thematic and/or cult-like/quirky appeal are Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd (the character of Quint reminded me of the Beadle), the dramatization of Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market, Stephen Mallatratt’s spine -tingling The Woman in Black, Carrie: the Musical, and the one-hour opera The Dictator’s Wife by Mohammed Fairouz.

Ruminations in this musical as well as the original source material are numerous: is the hysteria and fear of madness of the governess caused by psychological repression -- or is a supernatural and demonic force at work through the ghosts of the former inhabitants?

The phrase “The Turn of the Screw” connotes the increasing tightening of psychological pressure-- and certainly the escalating paranoia, hysteria, and the unmasking of repressed fears and desires is fully and appropriately terrifyingly shown here in this production.

The introductory “Notes from the Director” in the program help to explain  much as director Matt Conners states:  “Our intention is not to endorse dark behavior, but to explore how we respond when facts are scarce, and certainty eludes us. Do we leap to conclusions too quickly? Do we perceive the word as it is ---or through the lens of our own fears and past experiences?”….”Tonight’s performance is meant to entertain, unsettle, and provoke questions. Perhaps the puzzle will remain unsolved ---and perhaps that is exactly why we continue to tell this story.”

The hard work and synergy required to provide work of this level must be applauded although the material’s format can be challenging at times. Material that is hard to categorize is often the most difficult to produce and hearty praise must be heaped on the cast, the entire production crew, and –especially, to the team of composer Matt Conner and lyricist Stephen Gregory Smith for bringing a production of this artistic quality to the Creative Cauldron.

Running Time: 80 minutes with no intermission

The Turn of the Screw: The Musical runs through October 26, 2025 at the Creative Cauldron located at 127 East Broad Street, Falls Church , VA, 22046.

Lead photo credit: L-R John Poncy, Christian Montgomery, June Tuss, and Marcy Ledvinka in Creative Cauldron's production of The Turn of the Screw: The Musical.