‘2:22 – A Ghost Story’ Makes Frightful U.S. Debut

Steadily growing tension leading to a shocking end is not the normal theatre-going experience.  But, “2:22 – A Ghost Story,” the play that made its U.S. debut at the Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles last week, offers a frightful, yet sophisticated evening.

“2:22 – A Ghost Story” premiered in London’s West End last year to rave reviews and is being greeted with the same acclaim in Los Angeles. Horror and thrillers are not the usual fare in settings that regularly feature mainstream musicals. That makes this show an unexpected treat that could appeal to a broader, younger audience.

A Frightful Feast of Sights and Sounds

Most shows leave the audience commenting on the cast. Not so this one. Like the best horror films, the scare tactics used can seem obvious and campy. But the overall ambiance created by Ian Dickinson’s magnificent sound design and Lucy Carter’s lighting design are stars of the show too. There are loud screams. The stage is repeatedly darkened except for a trim of shockingly bright red lights in scene transitions that make the audience jump. The fog outside the sliding glass door seems ominous. Unseen coyotes howl. Even sounds from a baby monitor startle and add to the mounting stress. Yet, the element that steadily grows the tension for the actors and audience is the digital clock on stage, hauntingly ticking closer to 2:22 a.m. Everyone knows something is inevitably going to happen as the menacing minutes tick by.

Directed by Matthew Dunster, the Ahmanson production of “2:22 – A Ghost Story” features a starring quartet of:

•  Constance Wu (“Crazy Rich Asians” and “Fresh Off the Boat”) as Jenny, who hears noises at 2:22 when left alone for days in their home with her newborn daughter;
• Her disbelieving, haughty physics professor husband Sam, played by Finn Wittrock (“American Horror Story,” “Ratched” and other TV roles along with “Death of a Salesman” on Broadway);
• Sam’s old college friend Lauren, played by Anna Camp (“Pitch Perfect” trilogy and “True Blood”); and
• Lauren’s new boyfriend Ben, played by Adam Rothenberg (“Ozark” and BBC One’s “Ripper Street”), a blue-collar contractor from that area.

A Tense Dinner Party

The play takes place in one evening at Jenny and Sam’s fixer-upper house in a newly gentrified Boston area neighborhood. Jenny is painting a doorway with a constant cocked ear listing to the baby monitor. Sam has been away, and she is spooked by footsteps and other noises heard more than once at 2:22 in the morning through the monitor. Any new mother is sleep-deprived and on edge, but the noises have her freaked out.

Sam finally returns home, and Jenny wants him to believe and comfort her. She is angry that he did not call to explain why he would be so late and left her alone for days in the house with the baby. However, there is no time to fight or resolve things. They are hosting a dinner that night with Sam’s university pal Lauren, now a psychiatrist, and meeting her new beau. Jenny tells them all about her travails and her belief that the house is haunted. Sam maddeningly comes up with explanations for the noises and his wife’s reactions.

As the night progresses and more wine is consumed, truths and attitudes emerge. Sam refuses the contemplate the possibility of something supernatural occurring. Jenny admits his domineering presence makes her feel invisible. Surprisingly open-minded Lauren admits that she always wanted Sam to be more than a friend.

Furthermore, everyone gets annoyed with the out-of-place Ben.  He grew up in the neighborhood when it was a working-class one. Ben bitterly recounts selling his childhood home to a couple like Sam and Jenny, who stripped it down immediately to add all the trendy trappings. The buyers transforming the area tear out any remnant of the people who lived there before. He firmly believes that previous residents might be haunting the house.

Eventually, the quartet is annoyed at Sam’s refusal to even consider his wife’s frightful story is true. Fortified by booze, the group decides to wait until 2:22 and see if the ghost appears.

Leading to Final Minutes

The men are well cast and credible, but the women have more depth to their roles. Wu’s Jenny comes off as histrionic, which fits the circumstances. However, Wu sometimes rushes the dialog. Camp is the most uneven, but it may be the part itself. Her character is supposed to be a mental health professional. Yet, she seems to be the most brittle, using glass after glass of liquid courage to deal with Sam. Her interactions with the others also seem awkward.

As the clock and play tick on, Wu and Camp become more edgy and effective in their roles. The final twist at 2:22 is shocking and led the U.S. debut audience to head for their cars discussing frightful scenes, dialog, and hints that may have foreshadowed the ghost story’s ending.

The U.S. debut of “2:22 – A Ghost Story” will be at the Ahmanson Theatre through December 4, 2022, offering a fun, frightening theatrical experience. The show is not likely to cause nightmares and humor (and Alexa) lightens things up. Bottom line, “2:22 – A Ghost Story” is a play sure to make spines tingle and attendees talk about it afterward.

Written by Dyanne Weiss

Sources:

Performance Nov. 4, 2022

Center Theatre Group

The Independent: 2:22 A Ghost Story review, Noël Coward Theatre

Photo by Craig Schwartz. (L-R) Camp, Wittrock, Wu, and Rothenberg in the U.S. debut of “2:22 – A Ghost Story” at Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson Theatre.