Compliments of Meadow Brook Theatre
Art by Chet Johnson
Halloween Camp: ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ opens Meadow Brook Theatre season
By Vivian DeGain
The Oakland Press Oct. 10, 2012
Appropriately and all in fun, Meadow Brook Theatre generally opens the fall season with spooky mixed media – blood for vampires or an Agatha Christie whodunit, fog for threatening omens or the sea – or mediums of the psychic variety.
And this, MBT’s 47th season, begins with “The Haunting of Hill House,” a Gothic thriller which comes to life in all the darkness and dreariness fitting for the tale.
The brilliant Meadow Brook Theatre design crew has created a “Hill House” which is character itself — a nearly living, breathing and perfectly understated specter of mahogany and shadow.
Simply said, Artistic Director Travis Walter and Set Designer Kristen Gribbin make magic on their stage! Bravo to their vision and invention.
The wide intriguing set obscures secret walls, sliding doors, and hidden chambers. Maybe we even expect such fabrication built from such a story.
But we have also come to expect this from the able skills of MBT designers and crew.
Still, in “The Haunting of Hill House” Gribbin has exceeded all expectations.
Her gorgeous scenes are worth the ticket price.
She fills the stage from top to bottom and from side to side with layers and layers and levels. The eye of the audience sweeps in beauty and appreciates many perspectives, especially with design lighting by Reid G. Johnson, sound by Mike Duncan, and stage management by Terry W. Carpenter.
In this story, a group of strangers are called to assembly by a certain Dr. Montague, for reasons unknown in a house with a vague, notorious past.
The visitors are, as we are, curious and cautious and not without a sense of humor. To say any more would be too much.
Walter directs “The Haunting of Hill House,” based on the 1959 novel by Shirley Jackson and adapted by F. Andrew Leslie.
At Meadow Brook Theatre, his able cast features the ensemble of Hugh Maguire as Dr. Montague (the scientist investigating the paranormal), Robyn Lipnicki Mewha as Eleanor Vance and Leslie Ann Handelman as Theodora (two young women selected as possible mediums), Ruth Crawford as Mrs. Dudley the housekeeper, Judy Dery as Mrs. Montague, Peter C. Prouty as Luke Sanderson the heir, and Anthony Guest as Arthur Parker Mrs. Montague’s sidekick.
Liz Moore created the costumes – and this is a fine show done by all.
Meadow Brook Theatre presents ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ through Oct. 28. Performances generally at 8 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays; 2, 6 or 8 p.m. on Saturdays; 2 and 6:30 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets: $25-$40. Tickets at the MBT box office (248) 377-3300 or http://www.ticketmaster.com. For more information, visit www.mbtheatre.com.
Meadow Brook Theatre’s 2012-13 Season
Nov. 16 – Dec. 23, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Jan. 9 – Feb. 3, 2013 White’s Lies by Ben Andron, Comedy about Joe White who fools his mother about a fictional wife and family
Feb. 13 – March 10 Next to Normal by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, Musical Drama and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize and winner of 3 Tony Awards about two parents who go to extremes to keep their family’s world intact.
March 20 – April 14 The Constant Wife by W. Somerset Maugham, Comedy about manners and marriage
April 24 – May 19 Life Could Be a Dream by Roger Bean, Musical featuring 1960’s doo-whop
May 29 – June 23 70, Girls, 70 by David Thompson and Norman L. Martin, Musical by John Kander and Fred Ebb about a group of larcenous old folks who use creative ways to pay the bills of retirement.
Vivian DeGain Better at 50 Blog 