The Broadway stage has been home to many genres, but we haven’t seen much horror. The new play Grey House by Levi Holloway isn’t a slasher full of jump scares and murders, but it is a psychological horror that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Many aspects of it are open to wide interpretation, which has you leave the theater and continue to think about it for hours.
Grey House is set at a remote cabin in the middle of the mountains. When a young couple crashes their car in a blizzard, they’re forced to seek shelter with the teenage girls and one older woman who inhabit it. Without spoiling anything, the story takes complex twists and turns regarding why the women are living there and what exactly brought the couple to them. It does take a while for things to come to light, and not every question is answered, but the plot is deeply thought-provoking.
In an ensemble cast, it’s no surprise that veteran of stage and screen, Laurie Metcalf, steals the show. Her portrayal of Raleigh, the older woman, brilliantly balances the sentiment of bitter and caring. The actresses playing the teenage girls are excellent as well, with a notable collective chemistry. Millicent Simmonds, most known for the film A Quiet Place, plays Bernie without audible words, but in American Sign Language. Simmonds expertly showcases the benefits of accessibility in the theater. Sophia Anne Caruso plays Marlow, the creepiest character of the bunch, with haunting magnetism. Alyssa Emily Marvin plays A1656, the sweetest of the bunch, with a welcome warmth.
Grey House isn’t perfect. I would’ve liked to see some more scares, more information delivered throughout the show, and a clearer explanation by the resolution. But it’s a unique and challenging entry to Broadway that we don’t see too much of these days.