Just in time for Halloween, Creative Cauldron presents the musical and psycho thriller, “The Turn of the Screw,” by Henry James, one of “two great supernatural works of horror in a century,” says writer Stephen King (the other being “The Haunting of Hill House”).
After seeing Creative’s version, I’d rank it number one.
Folks: This is not the “Sound of Music,” but music it’s got a lot, 28 songs, most of them short in duration over a total play run time of 90 minutes (without intermission), the best songs which are the harmonies sung in duets and groups.
Helen Hayes Award winners, nominees and Broadway stars are among cast members.
The story starts out tame enough but it doesn’t take long for it to escalate, scene by creepy scene.
A new governess, Ms. Giddens (Susan Derry), arrives at a remote country house where a man (an uncle never named, but Bobby Smith in real life) hires her to take care of his niece and nephew, Flora (June Tuss) and Miles (John Poncy) after their parents have died.
Miles is away at boarding school where he is soon thrown out for some unannounced reason (but we can hazard a guess after we “meet” Miles!). He returns to the house where his strict and indifferent uncle does not live, but Uncle lives in Londontown where he likely wines and dines.
Whatever he does there, Uncle explicitly tells Ms. Giddens not to not bother him with details or any information about his new brood!
Just do your job and be done with you…and them! (To give you an idea of her voice, Derry has sung the lead role of Christine in “Phantom of the Opera.”)
A housekeeper, Mrs. Grose (Karen Kelleher who has the strongest voice of the lot) helps Ms. Giddens around the place.
Soon the ghosts of former employees Jessel (Marcy Ledvinka) and Quint (Christian Montgomery) start to show up, unseen by all except Governess Giddens. Or, perhaps the children see her? The governess is uncertain.
Mrs. Gross reveals details about the demise of the two employees and whatever is Ms. Giddens talking about, please? Pshaw! Seeing ghosts, are you?
Miles has a sinister, creepy personality and looks to kill, while his little sister is all sweetness and goodness until she isn’t.
The ghosts’ makeup grows more ghoulish, matching the increasing anguish of Ms. Giddens. Is she losing her mind?
Surprise, surprise, suddenly Uncle turns up to sing and dance with Ms. Giddens in a mesmerizing piece, and in a different scene, the ghouls dance, too. (Mr. Smith, the choreographer.)
The modern, stark set by Margie Jervis reminded me of a René Magritte surrealistic painting with black and white pieces, overturned chairs and puddles of black squares on the floor, sharp angles without human or warm existence.
The only colors Jervis adds to the stage are puppets.
When it rains, it pours and visuals against the backdrop of a wall of streams of water and, in a different scene, waves from a lake are cleverly screened by Nicholas J Goodman, projection designer, and Edward Wiant, technical director.
Keyboardist Paige Rammelkamp directs musicians on violin and cello who draw emotional responses as they set the stage and play along.
Tessa Grippaudo dresses the actors according to the Victorian era when James wrote it in 1898. Lynn Joslin was the lighting designer.
Director Matt Conner wrote the music and Stephen Gregory Smith, the lyrics and book.
Conner says in program notes that the phrase —“turning the screw”—can be “an investigative process” and “tightening pressure, like a device slowly wound until unbearable. In that sense, we all ‘turn the screw’ in our own lives, as we struggle to uncover hidden truths, examine our pasts, and confront the parts of ourselves we might otherwise keep in shadow.”
Creative has revived the play from its successful 2015 world premiere which was the first of the theatre’s “bold new works” envisioned by Laura Connors Hull, Creative’s founding artistic director.
Tickets start at $40 with $15 discounts available for 2 p.m. Sunday matinees using code SSS. Also on Thursday – Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. through Oct. 26, 2025. Group rates, available.
This play is recommended for ages 13 and up, but I dare say that some up to age 99+ might need to know: This is not your grandma’s cup of tea.
Park for free in the garage at 127 E Broad St, Falls Church, VA 22046 in Creative’s gorgeous new venue. For more information, call 703-436-9948 or write info@creativecauldron.org
