Yoinks

Oh Sh#t! It’s Haunted! – The Factory Theater

In The Factory Theater’s latest production, and one appropriately premiering in time for Halloween, Oh Sh#t! It’s Haunted! is the story of four Chicago friends who find themselves roped into exploring their neighborhood’s local haunted house, complete with a creepy recluse owner and someone plotting something that they’ll get away with if not for those lousy kids.

The show is consciously referencing Scooby Doo, but, for me, it hews a little too close to a Scooby Doo plot. Looking back on the cartoon with an adult eye, the stories aren’t…the best. The thin characters and pun-based humor may sustain a twenty minute cartoon for kids, but not an hour plus show aimed at grownups. The other issue I had is that component parts don’t really gel. The humor, almost exclusively pun-based, is at most points shouted at the audience. The B-plot of trying to secure a site for the upcoming Polish-American festival isn’t interesting enough for the time it’s allotted. When we find the ghosts themselves, the scenes with them dragged for me.

There are definite bright spots. The cast is clearly talented and has charm oozing out of their ears. The highlights were Christy Arington as one of the gang’s mother and Stacie Barra as local real estate magnate and petty tyrant Mrs. Ingersson. They both managed to balance sharp characterization and timing with the zanier elements of the story. The resolution to the ghost story, which I won’t spoil here, is also an interesting idea, and well performed. I just wish it had been joined more successfully to the rest of the show.

Like I said, the cast is obviously talented and charming. And while I can often love a zany riff on a childhood property, the pieces just don’t come together here.

Not Recommended

Reviewed by Kevin Curran

Presented October 4 – November 9 by The Factory Theater at 1623 W. Howard, Chicago.

Tickets are available at thefactorytheater.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.