10/14/2019
WKNO CULTURE DESK REVIEWS
āThe Partingā
Running through Oct. 19 at Evergreen Theatre
www.lostinfound901.com
āļøāļøāļø/5 Stars
Old theaters have ghosts. It's common knowledge. Just ask anyone assigned to lock up a theater at midnight.
There's a reason somebody invented the āghost light,ā a bare lightbulb on a pole that sits center stage and stays lit when the building is empty. Ostensibly, it's to prevent injuries in the dark. In reality, it's so ghosts don't touch the back of your neck when you're trying to leave a dark auditorium; everybody knows that.
All of this is to say: theaters and supernatural tales go together like Autumn and Halloween.
A new site-specific immersive theater project called āThe Partingā by Lost In Found 901, a group run by producer Julia Hinson, offers a paranormal performance by the theater itself -- in this case Evergreen Theatre -- where viewers get a guided tour of the building while learning of its terrifying past as a hotspot of occult activity.
Hinson blends fact and fiction as she ushers audience members in small groups into the building.
āHereās what you need to know,ā she prefaces, explaining the Evergreenās true historic credentials. Built just before the Great Depression as a movie house called The Ritz, it went through decades of different owners and name changes until 1981, when Circuit Playhouse transformed the space into a live performance venue. Thatās when the sloping single-screen auditorium was sectioned into what you see today, with a stage, rehearsal spaces, dressing rooms and the Basement of Death whereā¦
Weāre getting ahead of ourselves.
Hinson describes this walk-through experience as a āpromenadeā that reveals a little more information with each room. The plot takes us back to when the theater was known as āThe Guildā (the name is factual). However, it's suggested that the marquee has a more sinister connotation, i.e. a fraternity of people with certain claims to power.
āThe Partingā is not a āhaunted houseā attraction, which may be disappointing for those looking for ambush scares and shrieks. Itās an artistic and story-oriented work, set in a haunting atmosphere. The āimmersiveā style is similar to Hinsonās last sensational effort at Ashlar Hall, called āRites of Spring,ā where guests wandered around in a fantasy realm with fairies and fauns.
Written by a quartet of local actors -- Jeff Posson, Renee Davis Brame, Aaron Brame and Gabe Beutel-Gunn -- the story is nonlinear, and piecing the details together is part of the fun, like being a detective in a supernatural thriller. As we explore the nooks and crannies of the theater, tension builds with each increasingly unsettling piece of information.
Just as in a haunted house, lighting and sound play a major psychological role in āThe Parting,ā and designers Jeremy and Kristen Fisher have certainly made Halloween magic throughout the building.
Shadowy old films flicker nostalgically, occult altars glow ominously, and the dark backstage corridors seem even more nebulous in a thin veil of theatrical fog.
Hinson and her team embrace various storytelling techniques and performance styles, including dance -- another refreshing way āThe Partingā engages the macabre imagination.
The theater itself provides some of the most compelling drama. Climbing up a narrow stairway into the old projection room feels like trespassing on some inner sanctum of yesteryear. A projectionist, played by Shaleen Cholera, confronts us with a crazed, in-your-face confession straight out of The Twilight Zone.
I hardly expected dramatically insightful performances to come from a Halloween-themed show, but Natalie Jonesā take on an actress-turned-bloodthirsty occultist made me never again want to enter that claustrophobic dressing room without a handful of burning sage.
Several times in the show, we are warned of the theaterās basement. A tour of the Evergreen Theatre -- not to mention the storyās climax -- wouldnāt be complete without it.
The end of āThe Parting,ā like the final moments of āThe Blair Witch Project,ā comes quickly and leaves more questions than answers.
Fortunately, the company provides a Halloween party room and a full bar in the Varnell Building next door where discussions are encouraged while dancing to "The Monster Mash."
The walk-through takes about 45 minutes, and while the $30 ticket price may seem a little steep (in addition to the drinks youāll want to partake of), the experience is inventive enough to warrant it.
After all, itās no small feat to transform the entire building into a performance space. And for fans of immersive theater, itās a small price to pay for a rare treat.
--C.B.
