REVIEW: 2:22 A GHOST STORY

BY RYAN M. LUEVANO

Halloween maybe over, but if you’re still craving something spooky, the Ahmanson Theatre is offering the U.S. premiere of 2:22 A Ghost Story play by Danny Robins. The play seeks to answer the question: Is that ghost heard on the baby monitor at 2:22am or something else? The real question is: how does one make a theatrical play truly scary?

Let’s start with the play’s general premise. A couple (Jenny and Sam) have recently purchased a large old house—ghosts love old houses—at 2:22am Jenny hears a voice via baby monitor. Sam seeks to find a more scientific cause besides ghosts. During a dinner party they and another couple decide to stay up to 2:22am to get to the bottom of the situation. In this premise alone we are presented with a literal ticking clock scenario—the driving force of suspense in the play. 

Within this premise we have some disquieting moments. Coyotes howl outside, a storm rages, things keep happening upstairs where the baby sleeps and there is an effort to communicate with the spirits. Of these, the latter is the most compelling moment as we finally get some supernatural moments. These are a nice reprieve from the semi-serious farce like moments of people going up and down the stairs to check on the baby. The lights and music do most of the heavy lifting to set an eerie tone for the play’s scenes. The icing on the cake is the jump scares that punctuate various moments in the play with flashing red lights and a howling scream. And much like their use in films these prove to be cheap yet effective. 

The rest of the play is a series of scenes, usually categorized by arguments between assorted combinations of the cast. The subtextual theme in these arguments is unified, albeit tiredly so, by a grudge match between the lizard brain, the primal ‘fight or flight’ response (all action and not a lot of thought); the mouse brain, focusing on emotions and desires; and the monkey brain, cognitive (thought) processes such as empathy, reflection and understanding. In these arguments scenes the characters take turns getting on a soapbox to pontificate their points of view. They make their point; we move on to the next scene and gets closer to finding out what happens at 2:22. 

The casting of this play is top notch. The play stars Constance Wu as Jenny, Anna Camp as Lauren, Adam Rothenberg as Sam and Finn Wittrock as Ben. Now best known for their TV credits get an opportunity to go back to their roots to show off their stellar theatre training. Wu aptly plays the troubled, vulnerable mother who is be caught between her beliefs and those of her husband. Wittrock plays the arrogant know-it-all Sam with unyielding conviction. Camp brings the comic relief with her sardonic delivery and slightly over the top energy. Rothenberg offers much depth to this role making him one of the most likeable characters in the play. 

There are only a small handful of plays that aim to scare. In 2:22 we see the challenge that the medium of live theatre presents for offering thrills and chills. Even so, 2:22 does have its moments and there’s fun twist at the end that does add intrigue to the play.      

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MORE INFORMATION:

Opens Friday, November 4, at 8 p.m. Through December 4, 2022
Center Theatre Group / Ahmanson Theatre

Performance Days and Times:

• Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m.
• Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m.
• Sunday at 1 and 6:30 p.m.
• No Monday performances
• No 2 p.m. performance on October 29; No 1 p.m. performance on October 30 Run Time and Intermission: 2 hours including one intermissionTicket Prices: $40 – $175
  (Ticket prices are subject to change.)Tickets are available

• Online at CenterTheatreGroup.org
• By calling Center Theatre Group Audience Services at 213.972.4400
• In person at the Center Theatre Group Box Office at The Music CenterGroup Sales: 213.972.7231
  Deaf, hard of hearing and/or have low vision community information: CenterTheatreGroup.org/ACCESS
• Center Theatre Group / Ahmanson Theatre
  At The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A., CA 90012.