Here are my very LONG thoughts about this show:
Today, February 21st marks the end of a World Premiere run of Duncan Sheik's "Whisper House" at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, CA. I saw this play yesterday in what was its final form from its initial performance when it began on January 13, 2010. I read reviews which were extremely positive but those from people that I knew who had seen it were not. I originally had tickets for the Feb. 6th matinee performance but the rainstorms made me change my ticket to a later date. Even then I began to have doubts about whether I wanted to see it and almost didn't. A friend told me I needed to see it to make up my own mind which is exactly what I did and I'm glad I did. I went in with very low expectations and was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it even though it's dark and that ending is such a downer even though it's the only way it can end.
There was an open stage with a scaffolding set representing the lighthouse. To the left was a rollout set used for the housing of the Japanese worker, Yasuhiro. The lighthouse was a perfect choice to be a place perched on the boundary of two worlds, a kind of way station (or purgatory) both for the ghosts who never finished their business in life, and the living who haven't figured out what their purpose is.
The orchestra consisted of 9 excellent musicians which included the orchestra leader. They were set at the back of the stage in front of the curtain which was closed for most of the play giving them a ghostly prescence. It was also used for video projections when needed; the WWII images were excellent and the sound effects for the bombing were loud. I really loved the staging which was simple but very effective. It seems that all the new plays now use scaffolding and video projections which I guess saves on costs. Whatever, it worked for me.
Music--I listened to the concept album which I bought only three or four weeks ago only once and it didn't move me at all. It all sounded the same; very ghostlike/ethereal. I didn't listen to it again until I was driving to San Diego and once again I had the same feelings BUT all that changed when I saw the play and how the music fitted in perfectly. I'd call it a theatrical tonal poem.
The concept album has basically the same music with a few changes. In the play We're Here to Tell You is divided into two parts but on the concept album it's all one. They have added a Better to Be Dead reprise at the end of the show before the very clever curtain call Take A Bow which is the last song in the show. There is one other song on the concept album at the end The Ghost in You which is not in the show.
The final list of songs is now:
Better to Be Dead--Introduces all the characters in the play.
We're Here to Tell You (Part 1)--The ghosts sing to Christopher, the boy.
We're Here to Tell You (Part 2
And Now We Sing--More ghostly singing
The Tale of Solomon Snell--Even though I agree it seems unrelated to the play it's one of my favorite songs about a yellow-fever victim who winds up being inadvertently buried alive. I loved the ghosts when they sang "Ring the Bell"!
Earthbound Starlight--very moody and ghostly ethereal!
Play Your Part
You've Really Gone and Done It Now
How It Feels
I Don't Believe in You
Better to Be Dead
Take a Bow--The BEST in the show for me which is done at curtain call.
Is this music great? Probably not, but it works for what he's trying to achieve for the play, an ethereal ghostly style. If you're expecting the hard-rocking music from "Spring Awakening" you'll be disappointed; think The Dark I Know Well. It's definitely not slap happy or sappy. Instead it's melancholy which fits perfectly with the mood of the play.
STORY: I found it to be fascinating, darkly enchanting, and actually the BEST part of the show. The L.A. Times' review called it "a hybrid all-rock concert-psychological ghost story" = Perfect description! Some people criticized it because the music broke the flow of the story, but I think they've fixed that in the weeks that they've had to work on the play. It definitely didn't for me. The story could stand alone, but for me the music softened the downer ending.
The storyline thanks to the L.A. Times:
It's 1942, and World War II has reached America's Eastern shores with German U-boats doing their best to undermine Atlantic shipping. Lilly (now played by Celeste Ciulla), the crusty proprietor of the lighthouse, which her family has run for generations, has taken in the 11-year-old son of her brother, whose fighter plane was shot down over the Pacific.
Christopher (A.J. Foggiano) is having a hard time adapting to life with his aunt, whose no-nonsense manner is the opposite of nurturing. He's also made uncomfortable by the presence of Yasuhiro (Arthur Acuna), a Japanese immigrant employed at the lighthouse. To Christopher, Lilly is not just weird and mean but she's harboring the enemy that killed his father.
The complicated plot, which moves between supernatural and historical realms, hinges on the treatment of American citizens whose ancestry could be traced to the Axis powers. Charles (Ted Koch), the friendly local sheriff, informs Lilly that Yaushiro will no longer be able to work in what has now been designated a high-security area.
This order will be enforced by Lt. Rando (Kevin Hoffmann), who blusters onto the scene with a farcical incompetence that turns increasingly bullying. Meanwhile, those troublesome ghosts, always looking for an opportunity to extract revenge, hope they can use this latest development to impose some additional suffering on Lilly, whose drunken father caused their untimely shipwreck by failing to light the lighthouse on Halloween night, 1912 = a perfect night for their demise and the mood created for the music in the play.
What I liked best in the play is twofold. The first is something I completely missed when listening to the concept album, the parallel stories of love and longings between the unnamed musical ghosts portrayed by David Poe and Holly Brook, and Aunt Lilly and Yasuhiro. The second is the ever constant theme pervading the play: the tension between fear and security, between clinging to what's known and taking a chance on someone or something new. It's best embodied in the 10-year-old Christopher who has been dropped on the doorstep of Lilly, his aunt he's never known, after his aviator father died in the war and his mother subsequently had a breakdown.
The Actors (All ****):
Celeste Ciulla (Lilly)--She took over the role from Mare Winningham I think two weeks ago and I really liked her. Although I was disappointed that Mare was not in the show when I saw it like all standbys in professional productions she was wonderful!
A.J. Foggiano (Christopher)--He took over the role I think in previews from another performer. He's a local performer having been in the Old Globe's "Grinch" and was very good. Hopefully if this show was to go to Broadway in some form he'll get a chance to fulfill his dream of "making his way to the bright lights of Broadway".
Arthur Acuna (Yasuhiro)--He was excellent playing the role with a quietly soulful feel of someone accused of being a spy amid wartime paranoia. He deserves a chance to tread the Broadway boards if this shows transfers to the Great White Way!
Ted Koch (Charles, the Sheriff) and Kevin Hoffmann (Lieutenant Rando ever-so-briefly) were also very good in supporting roles.
Then there were the musical ghosts, the star-crossed lovers exacting hopefully their revenge on the lighthouse occupants played by musicians David Poe and Holly Brook. I have to say I wasn't impressed when I heard the concept album but seeing and hearing them in person in the play their lyrical presence are in my opinion perfection. They both bring a strong sense of presence and otherworldliness to the roles.
So is this play for you? You'll have to decide for yourself as I did. If you're looking for the commercial mega-musical blockbuster this is not for you. It's a small ghostly musical tonal poem that's just as worthy as a commercial blockbuster. Here's hoping with more work as suggested by others here it finds its way to Broadway some day in the future.
Updated On: 2/22/10 at 08:12 PM
