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Grey House
After a brutal car wreck in the mountains of Oregon, a young couple seeks shelter from a blizzard in a small cabin. But the cabin’s seemingly innocent inhabitants: four children and their minder, quickly start to expose the couple’s secrets, unmake everything they know about themselves, and hurl them towards a potentially sinister destination. GREY HOUSE is a new horror play about the gravity of the past and the cruel inevitability of its pull.
95 pages
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 6, 2026
A truly phenomenal play. I saw the show on Broadway and was in the last row so I couldn’t make everything out clearly, getting to read the stage directions and characters’ motives really added another layer to the story.
July 1, 2026
It reminds me very much of The Haunting of Hill House, but specifically the Mike Flanagan adaptation more than the play.
His starts as something dark and terrifying but ultimately ends with this sad, peaceful, loving, gut-wrenching, ache.
Grey House was unsettling in a similar way to that, but not in a way that relies on jump scares or ghosts in the traditional sense, which I was expecting when I saw “horror.”
It's like…The way trauma echoes. And the way trauma changes how you experience reality. The way everything becomes cyclical (for yourself and for the generations that follow you), especially when we think about trauma.
I don't actually think the house itself is what's scary even though the fridge bleeds and lights go out.
I think what's terrifying is being forced to confront a past that will not remain buried, or a past that keeps cycling back until it's acknowledged. Much like trauma!
Or mental health challenges. Or, or, or. The things we hold down, until we crack. Or break into pieces.
And because the children are victims of unspeakable violence, it started to feel like the play was asking what we (individually? societally?) owe those whose suffering has gone unacknowledged, most often, those without power (children, black and brown people, poor people, Disabled people, the list goes on).
Do we owe them our witness? Is that what Max is doing at the end? Sitting with them rather than turning away? And if so...how long do we stay there?
It also felt hard not to think about the children being held in ICE detention facilities. That same question kept coming back to me: what do we owe children whose suffering is happening in front of us? At the very least, we owe them acknowledgment and care instead of looking away.
There's something about that connection? The helplessness, the witnessing, the refusal to pretend it isn't happening that I haven't fully untangled yet, but it feels important.
Ghosts of violence, fascism, mental health, generational trauma…there are SO many directions you could take with this depending on how you interpret it.
His starts as something dark and terrifying but ultimately ends with this sad, peaceful, loving, gut-wrenching, ache.
Grey House was unsettling in a similar way to that, but not in a way that relies on jump scares or ghosts in the traditional sense, which I was expecting when I saw “horror.”
It's like…The way trauma echoes. And the way trauma changes how you experience reality. The way everything becomes cyclical (for yourself and for the generations that follow you), especially when we think about trauma.
I don't actually think the house itself is what's scary even though the fridge bleeds and lights go out.
I think what's terrifying is being forced to confront a past that will not remain buried, or a past that keeps cycling back until it's acknowledged. Much like trauma!
Or mental health challenges. Or, or, or. The things we hold down, until we crack. Or break into pieces.
And because the children are victims of unspeakable violence, it started to feel like the play was asking what we (individually? societally?) owe those whose suffering has gone unacknowledged, most often, those without power (children, black and brown people, poor people, Disabled people, the list goes on).
Do we owe them our witness? Is that what Max is doing at the end? Sitting with them rather than turning away? And if so...how long do we stay there?
It also felt hard not to think about the children being held in ICE detention facilities. That same question kept coming back to me: what do we owe children whose suffering is happening in front of us? At the very least, we owe them acknowledgment and care instead of looking away.
There's something about that connection? The helplessness, the witnessing, the refusal to pretend it isn't happening that I haven't fully untangled yet, but it feels important.
Ghosts of violence, fascism, mental health, generational trauma…there are SO many directions you could take with this depending on how you interpret it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2026
3.5, rounded down.
It's not often that 'horror' stories are put on stage, for the obvs. reason that the technology required to produce suitably eerie effects and jump scares is often cumbersome and expensive. But recent advancements in such means we are starting to see spooky works more frequently, such as the Broadway iterations of the 'Harry Potter' and 'Stranger Things' franchises.
This play, originally successfully staged in Chicago and subsequently put on Broadway, where it had to close early due to mixed reviews and mediocre ticket sales, takes a more subtle approach, creating tension through plot and character - although the gruesome ending DOES require such complicated tech.
Some of this I found effective, and I was heartened to see that one character is deaf, and the play incorporates ASL well - but the play did not hold together quite for me, lacking specificity and definitive answers for the various mysteries, and I wish the musical interludes had been done away with (perhaps those play well, but seemed a clunky way to cover scene changes). And there were a few too many standard tropes and cliches of the genre, which mitigated against any originality. Still, nice to have something out of the ordinary, and I applaud the playwright for attempting something new and different.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/17/th...
https://variety.com/2023/legit/review...
https://nystagereview.com/2023/06/01/...
It's not often that 'horror' stories are put on stage, for the obvs. reason that the technology required to produce suitably eerie effects and jump scares is often cumbersome and expensive. But recent advancements in such means we are starting to see spooky works more frequently, such as the Broadway iterations of the 'Harry Potter' and 'Stranger Things' franchises.
This play, originally successfully staged in Chicago and subsequently put on Broadway, where it had to close early due to mixed reviews and mediocre ticket sales, takes a more subtle approach, creating tension through plot and character - although the gruesome ending DOES require such complicated tech.
Some of this I found effective, and I was heartened to see that one character is deaf, and the play incorporates ASL well - but the play did not hold together quite for me, lacking specificity and definitive answers for the various mysteries, and I wish the musical interludes had been done away with (perhaps those play well, but seemed a clunky way to cover scene changes). And there were a few too many standard tropes and cliches of the genre, which mitigated against any originality. Still, nice to have something out of the ordinary, and I applaud the playwright for attempting something new and different.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/17/th...
https://variety.com/2023/legit/review...
https://nystagereview.com/2023/06/01/...
August 13, 2026
I saw Grey House on Broadway back in 2023; starring Tatiana Maslany, Laurie Metcalf, Sophia Anne Caruso, and Millicent Simmonds in the role of the Deaf character Bernie. I adore this horror play, and for years have been talking to anyone about it who will listen: I was initially skeptical that a live stageplay could be scary, but it was so fucking scary and menacing, especially with its use of light and shadow and unexpected stage tricks.
Re-experiencing Grey House in text, it’s actually a little harder to follow because it’s so dreamlike and strange and disjointed, so honestly I don’t think I recommend reading it blind; I feel like it was easier to go with the flow in-person and follow what was going on, and that the ~twist~ worked much better in actual execution vs reading it on the flat page.
Still, though, 4 stars for the actual stage experience itself. Highly recommend anyone catch it if it’s on again and they’re able to see it.
(Also: Levi Holloway has since written the Paranormal Activity play, directed by Felix Barrett of Punchdrunk/Sleep No More fame; which I think does an even better job of expanding on similar themes, in terms of claustrophobic horror, a haunted house, and a married couple experiencing domestic relationship strain while also dealing with disconcerting paranormal events. I’ll go see anything Holloway writes, man.)
Re-experiencing Grey House in text, it’s actually a little harder to follow because it’s so dreamlike and strange and disjointed, so honestly I don’t think I recommend reading it blind; I feel like it was easier to go with the flow in-person and follow what was going on, and that the ~twist~ worked much better in actual execution vs reading it on the flat page.
Still, though, 4 stars for the actual stage experience itself. Highly recommend anyone catch it if it’s on again and they’re able to see it.
(Also: Levi Holloway has since written the Paranormal Activity play, directed by Felix Barrett of Punchdrunk/Sleep No More fame; which I think does an even better job of expanding on similar themes, in terms of claustrophobic horror, a haunted house, and a married couple experiencing domestic relationship strain while also dealing with disconcerting paranormal events. I’ll go see anything Holloway writes, man.)
August 19, 2026
I really enjoyed this read. I wish I could've seen the Broadway production back in '23. So eerie and does a great job of keeping the audience on their toes in mystery and wondering what will be revealed next. I am absolutely obsessed with the scene where they play Show and Hell as well as the final scene climax of Henry's death into Max becoming part of the house. I listened to the three songs included in the text, and man, the playwright couldn't have picked better songs. Each fits the mood of the play perfectly and elevates the sinister sensation of something not being quite right.
It feels like it would fit into all of my favorite ghost/horror books I read growing up, I really hope I get the chance to see a professional production of this one day. I would love to see how a professional set designer would take this project on and how the special effects team can elevate the visual unsettling elements of this play.
It feels like it would fit into all of my favorite ghost/horror books I read growing up, I really hope I get the chance to see a professional production of this one day. I would love to see how a professional set designer would take this project on and how the special effects team can elevate the visual unsettling elements of this play.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2026
I was fortunate enough to see this on Broadway and have been waiting for the published play ever since! It did not disappoint. Reading the stage directions and getting more insight into the characters’ motivations gave a whole new level of creepy to this already incredibly dark story. Beautifully and terrifyingly written. I loved it.
July 23, 2026
Yikes!
This play makes no sense and was grating to read.
I had tix to see this in NYC, but it closed before the date of my performance.
Think I dodged a bullet.
This play makes no sense and was grating to read.
I had tix to see this in NYC, but it closed before the date of my performance.
Think I dodged a bullet.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews