The Woman In Black

From: "will stackman" profwlll@yahoo.com

Subject: Quicktake - "The Woman in Black" by Susan Hill, adapted by Stephen Mallarat

Date: Sat, Jan 13, 8:46 AM

Quicktake on THE WOMAN IN BLACK

     Stephen Mallarat's adaptation of Susan Hill's story, a long-running London favorite, has once again surfaced hereabouts, this time as a "winter tale" down in the Hovey Players' basement digs. "The Woman in Black" is a Wilke Collins inspired thriller, set at the beginning of the 20th century, which involves a solicitor enlisting the aid of an actor to tell the story of a haunting which changed his life. Introverted Kipps, played by Randy Marquis, is coached to become all the people in the recounting while Chuck Swager who plays the bumptious actor takes over the narration. Director Kristin Hughes has used the whole small space to surround the audience with the show.

    The storytelling is enhanced by "the miracle of recorded sound," a novelty on stage in pre-WWI London. The show takes place in a shuttered theatre as the pair rehearse the tale. A mysterious silent woman in black, played by Eden Land, joins in . Lighting designer John MacKenzie does his best giving the limitations of the Hovey's system and the spread of the show. The script, which follows the format of the original tale, seems a bit forced and could be condensed into a long one-act for more dramatic effect, but holds up well enough. The challenge of using two actors to accomplish a journey to the bleak shore of Northern England and the mysterious situation which unfolds there is interesting in itself.

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"The Woman in Black" by Stephen Mallarat, Jan. 12 - 27

Hovey Players in Abbott Theatre

9 Spring St. Waltham / (781) 983 - 9171
Hovey Players