{"id":380559,"date":"2025-10-13T16:17:04","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T20:17:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=380559"},"modified":"2025-10-13T16:17:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T20:17:06","slug":"chilling-elegance-and-thrills-in-prince-william-little-theatres-woman-in-black","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/13\/chilling-elegance-and-thrills-in-prince-william-little-theatres-woman-in-black\/","title":{"rendered":"Chilling elegance and thrills in Prince William Little Theatre\u2019s \u2018Woman in Black\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In Prince William Little Theatre\u2019s haunting October production of The Woman in Black<\/em>, director Cameron McBride<\/strong> conjures a masterclass in atmospheric storytelling that lingers long after the final blackout. Staged in the intimate Gregory Family Theater at the Hylton Performing Arts Center, this adaptation of Stephen Malatratt<\/strong>\u2019s play (based on Susan Hill<\/strong>\u2019s novel) embraces minimalism with maximum impact, inviting the audience to lean into the shadows and fill in the terror with their own imagination. PWLT\u2019s imaginative retelling of the story that played for over 30 years in London\u2019s West End is a perfect treat for the ghoulish season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this story, Arthur Kipps, a lawyer obsessed with a curse that he believes has been cast over him and his family by the specter of a Woman in Black, engages a skeptical young actor (and his spectral stagehands) to help him tell his terrifying story and exorcise the fear that grips his soul. It all begins innocently enough, but then, as they reach further into his darkest memories, they find themselves caught up in a world of eerie marshes and moaning winds.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
LEFT: H. Christian Aguilar as a Shade; RIGHT: John Mathews as the Actor, in \u2018The Woman in Black.\u2019 Photos by Amanda Elena Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The principal actors, John Mathews<\/strong> and Scott Heine<\/strong>, deliver a complex retelling of the story with a masterful challenge of portraying multiple layers of character simultaneously. The play, which is essentially a play within a play, is haunted throughout by the ghost story. Scott\u2019s Arthur Kipps hires John\u2019s Actor to depict himself, retelling the ghost story. At the same time, Arthur Kipps takes on the roles of numerous other characters in the story. Their chemistry is compelling, especially as the boundaries between performance and reality start to blur. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ensemble of \u201cShades\u201d \u2014 Becca Anderson<\/strong>, H. Christian Aguilar<\/strong>, Ava Botros<\/strong>, Laura Gibson<\/strong>, Emily LaCroix<\/strong>, and Billy Lister<\/strong> \u2014 adds eerie texture, haunting the periphery with silent menace and spectral grace. They add an extra layer of subtle dread, foreshadowing the ghost story that underlies both the reality of the past and the horror that may come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The production team deserves high praise for crafting an immersive world with subtlety and skill. Michelle Brooks<\/strong> and Cameron McBride<\/strong>\u2019s set design is evocative without being literal, allowing the audience\u2019s imagination to roam. Award-winning lighting designers Ken<\/strong> and Patti Crowley<\/strong> manipulate shadow and silhouette with finesse, bringing the stage to life and afterlife, while Matthew Scarborough<\/strong>\u2019s sound design heightens the tension with moaning winds and distant echoes. Riley Leonhardt<\/strong>\u2019s costume work and Emily Lagana<\/strong>\u2019s hair and makeup complete the illusion, grounding the ghostly in the Victorian.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Scott Heine as Arthur Kipps and John Mathews as the Actor in \u2018The Woman in Black.\u2019 Photo by Amanda Elena Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The Woman in Black<\/em> is a triumph of suggestion over spectacle, of imagination over exposition. It\u2019s a ghost story that doesn\u2019t just ask you to watch \u2014 it asks you to participate. As McBride writes, \u201cThe real chills are not on stage, but in what you picture just beyond the light.\u201d PWLT\u2019s production delivers those chills in spades, offering a perfect October night of theatrical magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catch it before it vanishes into the mist. And when you leave the theater, don\u2019t forget to glance over your shoulder \u2014 you never know what might be following you home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running Time: One hour and 50 minutes, with one 15-minute intermission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Woman in Black<\/em> <\/a><\/strong>plays through October 19, 2025, presented by Prince William Little Theatre<\/a> performing at Hylton Performing Arts Center, 10960 George Mason Cir, Manassas, VA. Purchase tickets ($20\u2013$25) online.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CAST
Actor: John Mathews
Arthur Kipps: Scott Heine
Shades: Becca Anderson, H. Christian Aguilar, Ava Botros, Laura Gibson, Emily LaCroix, Billy Lister<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PRODUCTION TEAM
Director: Cameron McBride
Producer: George Fulda
Stage Manager: Deb Hansen
Hair and Make-up Design: Emily Lagana
Set Design: Michelle Brooks & Cameron McBride
Set Dressing: Michelle Brooks
Lighting Design: Ken Crowley & Patti Crowley
Costume Design: Riley Leonhardt
Properties Design: Julianna Gedney
Dramaturg: Jenn Robinson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The production is a triumph of suggestion over spectacle, of imagination over exposition. By GUEST AUTHOR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":380561,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[95490,95491],"class_list":{"0":"post-380559","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community-theater","8":"tag-cameron-mcbride","9":"tag-stephen-malatratt"},"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nChilling elegance and thrills in Prince William Little Theatre\u2019s \u2018Woman in Black\u2019 - 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