Zoe Kasch (Photo by Andrew Kasch)
Reviewed by Katy Kragel
The Count’s Den
Through October 29
Samantha Aotaki (Photo by Lawrence Meyers)
Thrust into the seat of Ebenezer Scrooge (literally) get ready to face ghosts of the past, present, and future, but this time with a little less Christmas cheer. In A Halloween Carol, an immersive experience where audience members take their own Scrooge-like journey, these characters are set as the ghosts of Halloween instead. Forcing you to be the main character for once rather than sitting back in a traditional theater, this adventure asks you to be fully present and open to the unknown.
The immersive journey, an experience designed for two people at a time, starts outside of a warehouse in downtown LA. While it’s an option to go with a friend, walking alongside a stranger proves one of the most impactful aspects of this show. As you go through the different rooms, the ghosts ask intimate questions, which almost makes the event feel like a theatrical therapy session. Doing this alongside a complete stranger adds another layer to the emotional complexity of the experience. Cutting the small talk and the fake persona that we’re all used to showing when first meeting people is part of the challenge here, and doing that with a stranger truly separates this from standard format theater.
None of this would be effective without the set by Rachel Adams which completely transforms the warehouse where this event takes place. Each room has its own unique essence that immediately helps set the tone for what each ghost represents. This remarkable set, combined with the detailed props design (Monika Miklas), creates a character all its own. Inside, you forget you’re in just another random DTLA building. Unfortunately, this magic wears off when you exit into the final parts of the experience, which happens outside. Battling the noises of downtown and trying to block us from seeing the other buildings surrounding us using only black eye masks, the outdoor spaces seem to lose the detail-oriented, perfectly immersive design.
The set proves the perfect home for impressive performances from the ensemble. From the second Terence Leclere greets you outside the entrance, you simultaneously feel safe yet amusingly on-edge for what you’re about to encounter. Each of the ten actors strikes a lovely balance between the comfortable and the eerie. Feeling safe as you’re guided along this path is a necessary part of the immersion, but given the Halloween theme, the simultaneous otherworldly/slightly off-kilter tone that each of the actors relay is an added bonus. Given that level of commitment, the script could’ve given the actors more to play with. At times, their characterization feels specific but their dialogue and leading questions seem generic.
The show demands that we as the audience assess “the masks” we wear in our everyday lives, and perhaps a more detailed look at the ghosts that act as guides would open us up to more detail in our own personal reflections. Sharing the spotlight with these characters and having experiences alongside them – particularly in the first ghosts of the past sections – is more effective and memorable than forcing the spotlight to focus only on ourselves.
The Count’s Den, 1039 S. Olive St., downtown LA. Check website for schedule; thru Oct. 29. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-halloween-carol-tickets-1999712528002 Runtime: forty five minutes, no intermission
