Shakespeare Theatre Company Sets Cast For PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

Shakespeare Theatre Company unveils the cast and creative team for Paranormal Activity: A New Story Live on Stage, an original story based on Paramount Pictures' terrifying film franchise—now live on stage. This North American premiere from celebrated playwright Levi Holloway (Broadway’s Grey House) and Punchdrunk’s Felix Barrett (Sleep No More) features illusions by Tony Award winner Chris Fisher (Stranger Things: The First Shadow, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child). The production will play a limited engagement in STC’s Harman Hall, January 28 through February 7.

James and Lou move from Chicago to London to escape the past…but they soon discover that places aren’t haunted, people are. Featuring performances by Cher Álvarez, Patrick Heusinger, Shannon Cochran, and Kate Fry, the North American premiere production debuts at Chicago Shakespeare Theater (October 8-November 7). It moves to Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles (November 13-December 7) before coming to STC in January, and finishes its run at American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco (February 19-March 15).

Playwright Levi Holloway shared, “Writing Paranormal Activity for the stage, collaborating with Felix Barrett in London—working to create an actual nightmare—has been a dream. We strived to create something impossible, mixing the familiar with the uncanny, heart with horror. Audiences have a nose for honesty on stage and little patience for anything else. They’ll find it here, right alongside all the mischief we’ve made to trouble their sleep.”

Playing Lou and James, a couple trying to escape a sinister force, are Cher Álvarez and Patrick Heusinger. Álvarez has appeared regionally at such theatres as The Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, and Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, and appeared on television in shows such as Grey’s Anatomy and NCIS: Hawai’i. Heusinger, who originated the role in the Leeds Playhouse premiere, has been seen on Broadway in Next Fall and Fiddler on the Roof and starred as Lancelot in the national tour of Spamalot. He is also known for his work on the television shows Gossip Girl, Royal Pains, and Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce.

The cast also includes Shannon Cochran as James’ mother Carolanne and Kate Fry as Mrs. Cotgrave, a medium. Cochran’s many credits include Steppenwolf Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company, and Goodman Theatre, as well as the West Coast premiere of Broadway’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in San Francisco, and the national tours of Roundabout Theatre Company’s Cabaret and August: Osage County. This production marks a return to the horror genre for Cochran, as she appeared in the 2002 film The Ring. Fry has appeared off-Broadway at Lincoln Center, and regional credits include work at Center Theatre Group in LA, McCarter Theater Center, Goodman Theatre, and Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Levi Holloway is an ensemble member of Chicago’s A Red Orchid Theatre company, which debuted his plays Grey House (prior to an acclaimed Broadway run) and Turret, starring Michael Shannon. He is the co-founder of the Neverbird Project, a youth-based deaf and hard of hearing theatre company, and specializes in working with deaf children and creating theatre for deaf people.

Felix Barrett is the founder and artistic director of Punchdrunk, conceiving and directing such groundbreaking theatrical productions as Sleep No More (a reimagining of Shakespeare’s Macbeth), The Burnt City, and Viola’s Room. Barrett directed last year’s critically acclaimed production of Paranormal Activity at Leeds Playhouse in the UK, which will open on the West End this winter.

The creative team for Paranormal Activity includes Fly Davis (Scenic & Costume Designer), Anna Watson (Lighting Designer), Gareth Fry (Sound Designer), Luke Halls (Video & Projections Designer), Chris Fisher (Illusions Designer), Bob Mason (Casting), Travis A. Knight (Assistant Director), Camille Etchart (UK Associate Scenic Designer), Abby May (US Associate Lighting Designer), Will Pickens (US Associate Sound Designer), Skylar Fox (Associate Illusions Designer), Daniel Weissglass (Assistant Illusions Designer), and Melanie J. Lisby (Production Stage Manager), Julie Jachym (Assistant Stage Manager).