In keeping with the holiday so fast approaching, Sonorous Road has transformed their new digs into the House of the Fury. What you get is a haunted house tour for grownups. Director Beau Clark and an army of film and stage actors and technical support have worked tirelessly for long hours to bring this creation to life. What is really all in good fun is, on the other hand, a look into the “other,” that which we do not know and cannot (will not?) understand.
You can catch this creepy look into the “other side” at just about any time during the evening, beginning at 8:00 pm and continuing at about 15 minute intervals all evening. After some “very serious” ground rules are laid down, you are asked to don a mask. You may choose white (ghost: you watch but do not participate) or silver (active participant). This is not so much of a choice (in either case, you are assailed by these “inhabitants” to the same extent), but if you’re a ghost, these ghoulish creations aren’t quite so much “in your face.” I chose ghost, but found myself wishing as we went on that I had chosen the other way.
You are then led into what is Sonorous Road’s evil storyline. There is going to be a murder. You (that is, your small group of about eight people) must choose who is to die. Your choice (by popular vote) determines what happens next.
The trail now begins. We were led through a dizzying maze of surreal “rooms” that leapt back and forth between the rooms of locations in the fictional town of Kent and those of the spookier realms of the netherworld. Harpies, spirits, demons, and a pretty spooked bunch of townspeople assailed us. Murder has occurred. Who will pay? Will the whole town be led into demonic slavery? We gathered clues and witnessed “the other.” And what a sight it was! Costuming and makeup for this show is off the charts. Kudos to Tonya Martinez and an army of special effects makeup artists for these spooktacular creations. And the set and props folks must have worked tirelessly for long hours to create the chambers of the tour. From the fiery pits of Hades and a look at The Man himself (a truly devilish depiction of Old Nick) to a room in the local jail in Kent, these vignettes just kept on giving.
Be prepared for some pretty scary kinds of folks to be in your face, but as we were told beforehand, no one will touch you. You might get a chill from some of the realism in these depictions, however!
Please note, this is by no means a typical haunted house Halloween walk. Uh-uh. Don’t bring the kids; this is adult-level realism and it will freak the young ones out. Do bring your friends and siblings; Mom and Dad might get a kick out of it, too.
Sonorous Road has created here what is some serious theatre. Every single room we entered was minutely detailed and piqued our curiosity. The sum total leaves you wanting more. The attention to detail, from the mundane to the curious to the creepy, is astounding. There are a total of twenty actors within the trek; but if you wish for a cast list, well, it’s not going to help. One of these actors is a friend of mine, but I didn’t know he would be there, and I guarantee I could not pick him out. The realism is that good.
Oh, one last thing. Instead of getting your program at the beginning of the show, you get it at the close of the walk. Trust me, it’s better that way. And you will have the chance to tell the director of the show what you thought of his little – make that their little – creation. So go, already. And bring a pack of your friends; you will travel in an octet and if you all know each other, well, all the better. (Cue demonic laughter.)
House of Fury continues through Tuesday, October 31. For more details on this production, please view the sidebar.
