Review - Wayside's 'Woman in black': Thriller builds to spine-tingling climax

View larger image Jody Lee, left, and David Millstone appear in Wayside Theatre’s production of “The Woman in Black,” which continues through Nov. 5. Courtesy photo

By John Horan Jr.-jhoran@nvdaily.com

MIDDLETOWN -- From a slow start, Wayside Theatre's "The Woman in Black" builds to a spine-tingling climax.

Stephen Mallatratt's thriller, the second longest-running play in London, exudes eeriness as the spectral woman materializes at odd moments.

The early scenes -- which involve the lawyer Kipps reading the manuscript of his story of his encounter with the mysterious woman -- are desultory, but the pace picks up when he and the young actor he's engaged decide to act out the tale.

In their play, the pair trade roles, with the younger actor playing Kipps while Kipps portrays the other characters he met on a journey to an English coastal town to settle the estate of a client.

He first encounters the woman at the funeral and then in a cemetery at his client's house. The mystery deepens when he finds a child's nursery in perfect condition, but he later hears a scream and finds the nursery ransacked and a rocking chair in motion.

Old letters tell of the unmarried woman's child who is put up for adoption and then drowns on the marshland around the house. The woman, driven mad by grief, died but returns as "The Woman in Black" and proceeds to wreak vengeance on various children of those she encounters.

Director Warner Crocker elicits taut performances from the two actors, Jody Lee and David Millstone. Lee convincingly runs the gamut from dread to fright and horror as he re-enacts Kipps' mission. Millstone displays versatility in conjuring the various locals.

Zach Fullenkamp provides the creepy, unkempt set and Wes Calkin the eerie lighting.
Tamara M. Carruthers supplies the handsome period costumes.

"The Woman in Black" continues through Nov. 5. The box office phone number is 869-1776.