‘The Woman In Black’ is chilling ghost story

By Ahriel Porter

Just in time for Halloween, Valley Performing Arts has put together a chilling ghost story.

Imagine yourself caught in a horror movie, the characters have come to life and reality seems far away.

Arthur Kipps is sent to a small market town to appear at the funeral and organize the affairs of an elderly widow, Mrs. Alice Drablow. It’s at the funeral that Kipps sees the woman dressed in black for the first time. Though she was dressed appropriately for such an occasion, she looked out of place with her pale and wasted face. The mysterious woman in black continues to appear throughout Kipps’ visit. As her appearances grow more frequent, Kipps’ anxiety intensifies. Her story, it seems, is too disturbing for the locals to share. Kipps finds himself lost in a world of heart-pounding terror while he struggles to unravel the events that took place long ago.

The most interesting and impressive part of this performance is that fact that the cast consists of only two men — Ted Carney and D.J. Rotach — who play a variety of characters. On a stage within a stage, the men perform the horrific story that Arthur Kipps needs to share with his family and friends by living it again. The two actors show great talent as they transform from character to character in order to bring to life the disturbing tale.

It’s important to remember that behind the two-person cast is a rather large and talented production crew. Director Grant Olson, with the help of assistant director Rae Cunningham and their crew, painted the grim, eerie atmosphere, sure to send goose bumps up your arms.

The play itself has everything you could ask for in a ghost story — mystery, suspense and even a dark twist at the very end. It’s a definite must-see.

“The Woman In Black” plays through Oct. 30. Tickets are $15 for students and seniors and $17 for adults and can be purchased at Valley Performing Arts office, 251 W. Swanson Avenue in Wasilla, or at valleyperformingarts.org.

Ahriel Porter is a student at Mat-Su Community College pursuing a field in physical education. Her passion is assisting with fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She plans to run a marathon in Hawaii this December to support the organization.