“Paranormal Activity”

Here’s something I never thought while watching the film Paranormal Activity in 2009: One day I will be writing a review of the theater version of this found-footage movie. I vividly recall watching the cinema audience around me react to the slow-building scares – the long scenes in which nothing much seems to be happening that then explode into sudden frights. The audience was extremely tense. But after approximately a trillion knockoffs of this original formula, could a new version possibly have the same impact?

Oh, yes, my friends. The new production of Paranormal Activity at the Ahmanson is a winner.

I’ve never seen so many people in a live theater show lose their shit at once. Folks were screaming, laughing, chatting to dissipate their nervousness and jumping in their chairs. The lady next to me had her head down between her knees, her hands clamped over her ears, every now and then asking her seatmate (who was also hiding), “What’s happening?!” It was a good time.

Married couple Lou (Cher Álvarez) and James (Patrick Heusinger) have relocated to a rented house in London for James’ work. They’d previously lived in Chicago, but weird supernatural events – noticed only by Lou – made the move something they jumped at. Lou also isn’t going to miss James’ pushy religious mother, Carolanne (Shannon Cochran), who thinks prayer is the answer to everything and frequently inquires when she’ll become a grandmother. Alarmingly, the unusual happenings seem to have followed the couple to the UK, with plumbing outages, flickering lights and loud rumbling noises being only some of the upsetting occurrences. The couple hires a medium named Etheline (Kate Fry) to help them with their dilemma, but as the supernatural phenomena ramp up, they realize they’re mostly on their own.

Álvarez does nice work as Lou, charting the character’s journey from early unease to experiencing constant dread and subsequent anger. Heusinger excels as James, who on the surface wants to be helpful but also can’t believe in the things that are scaring his wife. Fry is very funny as Etheline, seriously interrogating the couple to set up a séance. Cochran steals the show as Carolanne (a nod to Poltergeist, perhaps?) with a vivid comedic performance as the mother/mother-in-law that nobody wants to have visit.

Felix Barrett’s direction (it’s restaged here by playwright Levi Holloway) is very effective, both in his strong work with the cast and in his expert use of all the technical aspects of the show. Fly Davis’ impressive and detailed two-story set is a perfect frame for all the atmospheric spookiness to come. They’ve weaponized the sound (Gareth Fry) and lighting (Anna Watson) design in this production as perfect tools to shock the audience, and Chris Fisher’s illusions are superb (although I couldn’t always distinguish them in the dim light and mist).

The story of the film version and this theatrical production are different, but people who saw the film series will note a lot of similarities. But you don’t need to have seen any of the movies to enjoy this stage show. Holloway’s script is quite amusing (Lou describes her mother-in-law’s annoying persistence as her being like “a targeted ad”), but he manages to transfer the fun of the cinematic experience to the live stage, and it’s very successful. Something about being there, in person, for the scares makes it more intense. The special effects clearly add a lot to the production, but some of the most alarming and surprising scenes derive simply from the writing and acting, which reminds us that things people do and say can be the most terrifying things of all. I wasn’t completely sold on the ending, but it didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the play.

If you want to see a group of adults in an audience reduced to a mass of gibbering, scared teenagers, you’re going to love Paranormal Activity. Also they’re playing loud alternate rock in the usually staid Ahmanson lobbies and begin the show with a thunderous chunk of Radiohead’s “Just,” which is one of my favorite songs from that band. These last two facts may not appeal to everyone, but I personally was a happy camper.

Paranormal Activity is presented by Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre and plays through December 7, 2025.

Tickets are available at https://www.centertheatregroup.org/