(Posted June 5, 2023) By Fern Siegel

Supernatural thrillers depend on character engagement and fear — something major must be at stake to drive the action.

In the Grey House, now at the Lyceum Theater on Broadway, the eerie young girls who live in the desolate cabin supply the requisite creepy, but the story line is muddled.

The cast is headlined by Tony winner Laurie Metcalf (A Doll’s House, Part 2). Metcalf plays Raleigh, the mother of a brood of teenage girls who look like they stepped out of a Victorian novel. There’s Squirrel (Colby Kipnes), Marlow (Sophia Anne Caruso), Bernie (Millicent Simmonds) and A1656 (Alyssa Emily Marvin). And, just to add to the spooky confusion, the Ancient (Cyndi Coyne).

Now, Metcalf can do anything on stage, but Levi Holloway’s Grey House doesn’t allow her much range. Holloway, a Chicago writer and teacher, is the co-founder of Neverbird Project, a youth-based deaf and hearing theater company. And one of the characters in his play is deaf. Grey House first opened at Chicago’s A Red Orchid Theater in 2019.

The play, directed by Joe Mantello, is set in 1977, but the family appears to exist outside time and space. They don’t leave the premises. We meet them because a married couple, Henry (Paul Sparks) and Max (Claire Karpen standing in for Tatiana Maslany at the performance reviewed), have a car accident and stumble into the house for shelter. There is a raging storm outside, and Henry has broken his ankle. They seek warmth and help — but, as in all supernatural tales, get more than they bargained for.

Lonely house. Strange kids who play weird games and pop out of cabinets or flee to the smoky basement. A refrigerator filled only with moonshine. The elements are there, but the narrative, ultimately about how men treat women, is oblique. It’s hard to determine the through line — or the line between reality and illusion.

Also, we have to care about what happens to the duo to sustain interest. Grey House has a capable cast and an unnerving atmosphere, thanks to Scott Pask’s set design. Grey is an appropriate title; given the lack of serious chills or compelling thrills.  At 100 uninterrupted minutes, it’s also one of the strangest, least accessible productions to appear on Broadway in a long time.