THEATRE REVIEW: "The Woman in Black" at the Royal George Theatre (Chicago, IL)

      On the evening of January 10th, 2019, my dad and I saw the Stephen Mallatratt production of Susan Hill's "The Woman in Black" at the Royal George Theatre.  Adam Wesley Brown and Bradley Armacost starred in the production.  To the best of my recollection, they are both Chicago-based actors.  After this production finished its run at the Royal George Theatre on February 17th, 2019, it moved across the country to Seattle Repertory Theatre, where it performed for a similar length of time as the production's Chicago stint.  I was so surprised when I found out that this production was actually a tour.  

     

     Before seeing "The Woman in Black" live on stage, I had never seen a scary play before.  The closest thing I had to compare it to was "Sweeney Todd," but I had never seen that snow live.  At Universal Studios Florida, there used to be an Alfred Hitchcock attraction where they reenacted the shower scene from the movie "Psycho."  That got kind of scary towards the "finale," so to speak.  It had a similar quality to a musical thriller or a frightening stage play.  

 

     My mom bought the tickets to this show both as a Christmas present for me, and as a birthday present for my dad.  Though, since she purchased the tickets on November 9th, 2018, I suppose it was a rather early present for both occasions.  The play was terrifying, to say the least.  During intermission, my dad said he felt trapped where we were sitting (our seats were  second or third row, center... Section MF, Row C, Seats 12 and 13 to be exact) and decided to move to an empty seat toward the back of the theatre.  I probably should have switched seats along with him.  I was just enjoying the play so much from where I was sitting.  I could understand my dad feeling trapped though.  The seats weren't very comfortable or spacious.  Also, there were a few parts of the play when clouds of dry ice would engulf the first few rows of the theatre, occasionally accompanied by a very loud shriek. 

Adam Wesley Brown and Bradley Armacost in "The Woman in Black" (photo by Roger Mastroianni).

     The Stephen Mallatratt production of "The Woman in Black" had been playing at the Fortune Theatre in London since June 7th, 1989.  The final performance of the West-End production is March 4th, 2023.  Anyway, this was the first time the original production played in Chicago.  I saw the movie in 2012, and read Susan Hill's novel a couple years after seeing the show.  I liked the play the best--although the novel...or...ghost story, was absolutely amazing.  I think the movie borrowed more elements from the novel than from the play.  When I visited my mom during the summer of 2021, we decided to watch the film version of "The Woman in Black."  My mom had never seen it.  We spent most of the movie either laughing or scoffing at it.  I had watched "The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death" around this time.  While my standards were lowered by the sequel, I still found plenty to scoff at in the first film.

Adam Wesley Brown and Bradley Armacost in "The Woman in Black" (photo by Roger Mastroianni).

     The Chicago Premiere of "The Woman in

Black" occurred in 1997 at the Chicago's Theatre Building (now called Stage 773).  The Production my dad and I saw in January of 2019 was the Chicago Premiere of the Stephen Mallatratt production.  Back then I saw "Beauty and the Beast" on stage.  The production  of "The Woman in Black" in 1997 appears to have been well-received, since it was extended repeatedly. If the 2018-19 production had been extended again, I probably would have gone back to see it a second time.

     As far as I know, the Royal George Theatre never reopened after closing at the beginning of the pandemic.  Not only that, but it's supposedly going to be replaced with condos.  I think that's sad, but I am surprised that hasn't been the fate of more of Chicago's smaller theatres.  The Royal George Theatre opened its doors in 1986 with a production of "Little Shop of Horrors."  Other notable productions which performed at the Royal George Theatre include "Angels in America" (1994), "Art" (1998), "White Noise" (2011), "Lost in Yonkers" (1992), and "The Pianist of Willesden Lane" (2013).  When I saw "The Woman in Black" at the Royal George Theatre, I wasn't thinking about all the past productions that performed at the theatre.  I kept being reminded how uncomfortable my seat was.

     This production of "The Woman in Black" was directed by Robin Herford, with Magdalene Spanuello as associate director.  Michael Holt was the production designer; Kevin Sleep was the lighting designer with Anshuman Bhatia as associate lighting designer and production manager.  Gareth Owen was the sound designer and Ray Nardelli was the associate sound designer.  I didn't know this until recently, but Chicago was the third tour stop of this production.  First, the production performed at Allen Theatre of Playhouse Square (Cleveland) from September 15th through October 7th, 2018.  The production then performed at the Pasadena Playhouse (Pasadena) from October 17th through November 11th, 2018.  Then, the production performed at the Royal George Theatre (Chicago) from November 15th, 2018 through February 17th, 2019.  The production then performed at the Seattle Repertory Theatre - Bagley Wright Theatre (Seattle) from February 22nd through March 24th, 2019.  Lastly, the production performed at Michael R. Klein Theatre (Washington D.C) from December 4th through 22nd, 2019.  The production was two hours in duration, including an intermission.  The 2001 off-Broadway production was only 90 minutes long without an intermission.  That production ran from June 4th through August 8th, 2001 at the Minetta Lane Theatre.  I never saw the off-Broadway production, but something tells me the production my dad and I saw at the Royal George Theatre was better. 

Adam Wesley Brown in "The Woman in Black" (photo by Roger Mastroianni).