October may be over, but it’s still Halloween season at the Ahmanson as Center Theatre Group treats theatrical thrill seekers to the U.S. premiere of the West End phenomenon that is Danny Robins’ scrumptiously scare-packed haunted house chiller 2:22 – A Ghost Story.

The ghost-inhabited domicile in question is the one recently purchased by astronomer Sam (Finn Wittrock) and his wife Jenny (Constance Wu) in a Boston neighborhood now undergoing gentrification by those with enough bucks to rip out aging but character-packed interiors and replace them with gleaming new ultra-modern blah.

Unfortunately, Jenny is beginning to wonder whether these extensive renovations might possibly have pissed off one of the house’s now-deceased former residents.

That might, for instance, explain why the past four nights at precisely 2:22, she’s heard footsteps coming from her infant daughter’s bedroom as husband Sam does his astronomer thing somewhere out in the wild.

Sam’s back home now, though, apologetic for having been incommunicado (his cell phone fell off a cliff, he says) but fortunately not too late to attend tonight’s dinner party for four.

Joining the young marrieds this evening are Sam’s university friend Lauren (Anna Camp) and her builder boyfriend Ben (Adam Rothenberg), the latter’s working-class accent and demeanor standing in stark contrast to his dinner companions’ educated, middle-class veneer.

Reactions to the sounds Jenny says she’s been hearing vary from scientist Sam’s insistence that there must be a logical explanation for them to Ben’s absolute belief in the supernatural (he’s more than open to hosting a séance) to Lauren’s wait-and-see attitude.

What better way then to see who’s right and who’s wrong than for the foursome to stay up and await what may or may not reoccur tonight at 2:22.

And what better way for Sam and Jenny and Ben and Laura to pass the time as the digital clock on the wall ticks down the minutes than get sloshed over glass after glass of wine and shot after shot of the harder stuff, their loosened tongues recalling those of a certain George and Martha and Nick and Honey.

In other words, even minus its haunted house trappings, 2:22 – A Ghost Story would, like Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf, make for one humdinger of a dinner party four-hander with just as many laughs as dramatic fireworks.

Still, it’s hard to imagine Robins’ play having had its phenomenal West End success without the myriad shock effects delivered by sound designer Ian Dickinson, who punctuates the action with ear-splitting coyote howls (replacing London’s foxes) and signals the end of each scene with sudden bursts of hyper-amplified screams.

Not only does 2:22 – A Ghost Story’s American debut feature Dickinson’s award-worthy sound design (like the play itself, it was nominated for an Olivier) but Matthew Dunster’s razor-sharp direction, Lucy Carter’s bloody effective lighting (recreated by Sean Gleason), Anna Fleischle’s uber-spacious, sky-high-ceilinged living room/kitchen set, Cindy Lim’s character-apt costumes, and Chris Fisher’s how-did-they-do-that illusions (recreated by Will Houstoun).

An all-star cast do uniformly dazzling work in roles Americanized for the play’s U.S. Premiere, from the increasingly distraught time bomb that is Crazy Rich Asians’ Wu to Wittrock’s mansplaining doubter of a Sam to Rothenberg’s unapologetically blue-collar, fish out of water Ben.

Best of all is Camp’s fiery star turn as the steadily more inebriated Lauren, proving as she did in Pasadena Playhouse’s Belleville a few years back that roles in movies like Pitch Perfect, Pitch Perfect 2, and Pitch Perfect 3 only scratch the surface of Camp’s talents.

Understudies Hannah Barefoot, Nathan James, Zachary Mooren, and Anny Elizabeth Rosario complete 2:22 – A Ghost Story’s firecracker of an ensemble.

Gabriel Vega Weissman is associate director. Edgar Landa is fight director. Natsuko Ohama is vocal coach.

David S. Franklin is production stage manager. Shauna Voragen is stage manager and Miriam E. Mendoza is assistant stage manger. Casting is by Caparelliotis Casting, David Caparelliotis CSA, and Joe Gery.

I’d be remiss not to mention that I’m not entirely convinced 2:22 – A Ghost Story’s stunner of a 2:22 revelation can hold up under close scrutiny.

But no matter.

Those in search of scary escapist fun need only head over to the Ahmanson for 2:22 – A Ghost Story for a screamingly fabulous time.

Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N Grand Ave, Los Angeles.
www.CenterTheatreGroup.org

–Steven Stanley
November 4, 2022
Photos: Craig Schwartz

Tags: Ahmanson Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Danny Robins, Los Angeles Theater Review