Paranormal Activity in Boston: Then, We Take Manhattan

Paranormal Activity: A New Story Live On Stage opened in Boston on July 11th, and I took it in, invited for review, tonight. I may or may not be up writing about this tonight because I’m too afraid to go to sleep. I’m only half kidding. I think I could sleep, but my adrenaline is pumping and I enjoyed the show so much that I want to make sure you get a chance to see it before the limited Boston engagement ends and Paranormal Activity: A New Story Live On Stage heads to Broadway.

This play, based on the Paranormal Activity films, was a hit. You could feel it in the room. The standing ovation only told part of the story. It was clear that our fellow audience members had relative comfort levels around ghost stories and the horror genre. There was the woman who screamed audibly across the aisle from me from the very first jump scare all the way through to the standing ovation. The man in front of me was a lover of horror and scary things and he seemed to enjoy the show thoroughly. My theatre-mate and I are not huge horror lovers and both entered the theatre tentatively, but we both loved the show. She walked home to the T and I headed back to my car alone with little to no trepidation, and I only looked behind me in fear once.

The special effects, illusions, soundscapes and set were perfect. The acting was excellent. The dynamic between these two lovers dealing with all the complicated aspects of relationships and a whole other level as well. Cher Alvarez (Lou) and Travis A Knight (James) were fantastic as was Eva Kaminsky (Etheline Cotgrave) and Shannon Cochran (Carolanne). There is one scene in particular that I will remember for a very long time because of how powerful and unexpected it was and I still can’t figure out how they did ti. Like all horror and ghost stories, the play taps into insecurities and fear that we all have as humans and more.

Paranormal Activity is written by Levi Holloway, who chilled Broadway audiences with his Tony Award-nominated Grey House in 2023, and directed by Felix Barrett, pioneering founder and artistic director of the acclaimed Punchdrunk, whose immersive Sleep No More played more than 5,000 performances in a record-breaking 14-year run in New York at The McKittrick Hotel following an acclaimed US premiere at Boston’s American Repertory Theater.

The plays illusions created by Tony Award-winner Chris Fisher, whose work includes the West End and Broadway productions of Stranger Things: The First Shadow, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and Back to the Future are a treat to witness (in a scared silly sort of way).

Scenic and costume design is by Tony nominee Fly Davis (Caroline, or Change), lighting design is by Anna Watson (Broadway’s Giant), sound design is by multi-Tony Award winner Gareth Fry (Harry Potter & the Cursed Child), and video design is by Luke Halls (The Lehman Trilogy). I remember telling myself during the show: “Do not look at the tv!” and a few of the comic relief moments were by video as well.

Paranormal Activity: A New Story Live On Stage will be playing through July 30th at Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre before it heads to Broadway. Tickets are still available here and they start at $49. I highly recommend seeing it here first.