Posted: 4/26/23 at 5:57pm
What are some of the most suspenseful plays you've seen that have made you jump?
THE WOMAN IN BLACK
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
Posted: 4/26/23 at 6:15pm
I came here to say The Woman in Black, without any irony. I literally screamed lol
Posted: 4/26/23 at 6:17pm
@ OP - the 2 you mentioned are some of the only plays I've seen that have really included "jump scares"
Lucas Hnath's '"The Thin Place" had a pretty spooky sequence at the end, and I recall there was a moment that caused a bit of a jump, but nothing extreme.
But as for pure suspense (minus the "made you jump" part), my mind immediately went to Is This a Room.
Posted: 4/26/23 at 6:22pm
The Pillowman overall.
Some suspenseful moments in Deathtrap and Wait Until Dark.
Posted: 4/26/23 at 6:26pm
2:22 definitely had a good amount of suspense/jump scares, though by the end some of them felt a little cheap/overused. Woman in Black was far scarier to me, though I don't think it actually made me jump as much.
Updated On: 4/26/23 at 06:26 PM
Posted: 4/26/23 at 7:25pm
HIGH by Matthew Lombardo. It was a HEFTY play for 17-year old me.
In the modern era, BLACKBIRD by David Harrower
Posted: 4/26/23 at 7:27pm
WAIT UNTIL DARK
NIGHT WATCH
Updated On: 5/4/23 at 07:27 PM
Posted: 4/26/23 at 8:21pm
I don’t see plays often, much less one that’s 3.5 hr, but I was so gripped by The Ferryman that I saw it twice. A full workday’s worth of seeing a play? Me? Never….except.
Posted: 4/26/23 at 8:21pm
HoldYourBatBoy2 said: "The Ferryman"
They said most suspenseful.
Posted: 4/26/23 at 9:14pm
I'd agree with The Pillowman.
I'm also going to throw out Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play. The first act, specifically, is so suspenseful as the concept for the show gets set up for the absurdity of act II and III.
Posted: 4/26/23 at 9:43pm
WAIT UNTIL DARK ( the original production. It lost something in the Tarantino revival)
Posted: 4/26/23 at 11:26pm
The Pillowman was an incredible theatregoing experience. It definitely gave me the creeps. Lee Remick in Wait Until Dark definitely received the loudest audience screams I have witnessed. This list makes me realize that there really have not been a lot of good suspense plays.
Posted: 4/27/23 at 1:38am
American Son
Not jump scares, but so tense. I think I was holding my breath through a lot of it, and my heartrate was definitely up by the end
Posted: 4/27/23 at 6:57am
Let the right one in. So good. Shame it never came to midtown.
Posted: 4/27/23 at 9:15am
Hoping to say GREY HOUSE when I see it next week, but also THE FERRYMAN had a crazy intense ending, and had be stressing in suspense. What a gorgeous play.
Posted: 4/27/23 at 9:51am
Equus.
Woman in Black.
I wish I had seen Wait Until Dark.
Posted: 4/27/23 at 10:38am
As a 8 year old child, Phantom. The fact that he kept appearing from different places on stage, and the ominous voiceovers, I was waiting for him to come up behind me.
As an adult, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The whole place is dark, even during intermission and preshow. Sitting in the front of the mezzanine, and have the dementors fly at you out of nowhere, is so suspenseful. Then, the staircase coming out of nowhere for Volemort. I was expecting him to fly toward me.
I will say, the Southwark Playhouse's production of Titanic was suspenseful in the way of the preshow having Thomas Andrews, the designer of the Titanic sit at a drafting table, creating the ship was brilliant. Peter Stone's book is so well crafted you think the ship may not sink at some points (just like in 1776 you never think they will agree), and just the doom that lingers throughout was suspensful, but in the best way possible.
Posted: 4/27/23 at 10:59am
The most recent one that came to mind was this year’s revival of Topdog/Underdog! That final scene definitely had a lot of people squirming in their seats.
Posted: 4/27/23 at 11:40am
JudyDenmark said: "American Son
Not jump scares, but so tense. I think I was holding my breath through a lot of it, and my heartrate was definitely up by the end"
Came here to say this as well. I vividly remember the audible gasps from most of the audience, myself included, at the final reveal. Even having an inkling of how it would end, something about the way it was finally presented just took my breath away.
