Theatre in the Park's Let the Right One In Lacks
the Thrills and Chills of the Novel and Films

Having read -- and loved -- the pulse-pounding 2004 Swedish vampire novel, Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in) by John Ajvide Lindqvist, and having seen both the riveting 2008 Swedish film adaptation -- with screenplay by Lindqvist -- of this terrifying yet also romantic horror/coming-of-age story and the somewhat less satisfying 2010 American remake, entitled Let Me In, I was currious to see whether the 2013 London and 2015 New York stage version of Let the Right One In -- adapted by critically acclaimed British playwright and screenwriter Jack Thorne, a 2017 Olivier Award for Best New Play winner and 2018 Tony Award® for Best Play winner for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two, based on a new original story by J.K. Rowling, Thorne, and director John Tiffany, and the charming 2020 detective film Enola Holmes -- could move the audience for Saturday night's Theatre in the Park performance of the play to the edge of their seats and keep them there. Unfortunately, the answer is no.

Let the Right One In stars Jane Fitzpatrick and Lawson Walker as Eli and Oskar

This story of two outcasts, which is set in the brrr-cold winter months of 1981 in the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg, should have a heart of ice. Its protagonist is a lonely and savagely bullied 12-year-old schoolboy named Oskar (played here by Lawson Walker), who flees his dingy housing-development flat, crunches through the snow, stabs trees, fiercely waves his knife at imaginary tormenters, and calls them everything but a child of God. To Oskar's astonishment, he is not alone. He meets the barefoot, thinly clad 12-year-old girl-nextdoor, Eli (Jane Fitzpatrick, who has a Vampire Double played by Fin Wells), on the playground, where they sense that they are kindred spirits and become the unlikeliest of friends. Eli emphatically urges Oskar to fight back against the bullies (Sasha Haydn Zitofsky as Micke and especially Luie Roman as Jonny) who make his life a living hell. But when Oskar finally does strike back, he gets into a world of trouble at school, much to the consternation of his divorced, alcoholic Mum (Diana Cameron McQueen, making a welcome return to the Triangle stage) and his distant Dad (Trent Carson), who is more interested in carousing with his girlfriend Janne (Brynna Rosenberg) than compassionately supporting his preteen son through a particularly painful chapter of his Wonder Years.

Theatre in the Park's Sept. 30-Oct. 2 and Oct. 6-9 and 14-16 presentation of Let the Right One In stars (from left)
Lawson Walker as Oskar, Luie Roman as Jonny, Teejay Marqs as Mr. Avila, and Sasha Haydn Zitofsky as Micke

When a series of gruesome murders, in which all the victims are drained of blood, terrifies the residents of Blackeberg, Oskar is fascinated, little realizing that his new friend Eli -- who doesn't attend school or go outside during the day -- is a centuries-old vampire, and her pedophile protector/human servant/Renfield Håkan (Danny Norris) is slaughtering their neighbors, one by one, to feed Eli's insatiable thirst for human blood. Beleaguered Police Commissioner Halmberg (Myles Christopher) -- mainly seen via a video projection screen -- is flummoxed; and just like Mum and Dad, the other adults in Oskar's world -- Oskar's gym coach Mr. Avila (Teejay Marqs) and local pushcart sweets seller Kurt (Patrick Whalen) -- are likewise blind to Håkan's murderous nightly excursions. The other oblivious grown-ups -- and actual or potential victims -- include local townspeople Jocke and Torkel (Alex Lewis and Dan McCord) and hospital receptionist Nils (Emily Roberts), with train conductor Stefan (Thor Dollar) just passing through.

Many of minor characters have mere moments to make indelible impressions; few of them do. Moreover, Saturday night's show felt underrehearsed, with too many lines inaudible and even the principal players never fully inhabiting their characters. TIP artistic director Ira David Wood IV stages Let the Right One In with an emphatic soundtrack and sound effects that are supposed to help amp up the suspense; but it is squelched time after time by technical director/scenic designer Josh Martin's revolving set, stage left, and rumble-on/rumble-off set pieces, stage right and center, which are a regular reminder that we are sitting comfortably in a nice, warm theater on a rainy fall day in Raleigh rather than shivering in a Scandinavian forest where things go bump in the night.

Patrick Whalen (left) and Lawson Walker star as Kurt and Oskar in Let the Right One In at Theatre in the Park

Sander Vanocur once quipped that "A critic is someone who comes down off the mountain after the battle and shoots the wounded." I'm not in a killing mood today, so I'll try to be brief. If you want to give the audience goosebumps -- or scare the bejesus out of them -- you have to sneak up on them with a succession of shocking reveals. Merely pumping up the volume of your soundtrack music won't do the trick; and neither will underscoring events with a series of special effects that includes -- I am not kidding -- the chirp of crickets on a summer evening.

But, most of all, you have to cast the show superbly. The players are the thing. TIP's employment of a couple of college-age actors for Oskar's middle-school peers is a misstep; but overall the cast is never quite in sync, which means that the weaker cast members undermine the efforts of the stronger ones. More hands-on direction and fine-tuning might raise the hair on the back of a few more necks.

Let the Right One In at Theatre in the Park stars Lawson Walker and Jane Fitzpatrick as Oskar and Eli

EDITOR'S NOTE: A new 10-episode Showtime series, set in New York City and very
loosely based on Let the Right One In, will premiere on Friday, Oct. 7th. -- R.W.M.

Jack Thorne's LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (In Person at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 6-9 and 14-16), based on the 2004 novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist and directed by Ira David Wood IV, and starring Lawson Walker as Oskar, Jane Fitzpatrick as Eli, Fin Wells as Eli Vampire Double, Danny Norris as Håkan, Luie Roman as Jonny, Sasha Haydn Zitofsky as Micke, Patrick Whalen as Kurt, Myles Christopher as Police Commissioner Halmberg, Diana Cameron McQueen as Mum, Alex Lewis as Jocke, Teejay Marqs as Mr. Avila, Emily Roberts as Nils, Trent Carson as Dad, Brynna Rosenberg as Janne, Thor Dollar as Stefan, and Dan McCord as Torkel (Theatre in the Park in the Ira David Wood III Pullen Park Theatre in Raleigh). TRAILERS: https://www.facebook.com/iradavidwood/videos/644375510658463 and https://www.facebook.com/iradavidwood/videos/834932560855075. VIDEOS: https://www.facebook.com/theatreintheparkraleigh/videos. PLAYBILL: https://www.theatreinthepark.com/file_download/aa68f0ab-bb2b-475a-8e43-ff04fec2e28f. 2022 SEASON: https://www.theatreinthepark.com/whats-on/. THE PRESENTER/VENUE: https://www.theatreinthepark.com/, https://www.facebook.com/theatreintheparkraleigh, https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/10561032/theatre-in-the-park/, https://twitter.com/TheatreInPark, and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6csRm6S7ViHeBuRSlV_fqg. THE PLAY: https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/63241/let-the-right-one-in and https://playwright.co/plays/let-the-right-one-in-john-ajvide-lindqvist. THE SCRIPT (excerpts): https://read.amazon.com/. STUDY GUIDE (Royal Court, Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Sloane Square): https://d19lfjg8hluhfw.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/25191802/Let-the-Right-One-In-Resource-Pack.pdf. THE PLAYWRIGHT: https://www.casarotto.co.uk/clients/jack-thorne, https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/jack-thorne-500771, http://www.iobdb.com/CreditableEntity/52382, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2113666/, https://twitter.com/jackthorne, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Thorne. DIRECTIONS: https://www.theatreinthepark.com/visit/how-to-find-us.html. PARKING: https://www.theatreinthepark.com/visit/parking.html. COVID REQUIREMENTS (scroll down): https://www.theatreinthepark.com/welcome.html. WARNING: This show employs a strobe light in one scene and contains very mature language and adult themes. TICKETS: $28.96 ($23.60 students, seniors 60+, and active-duty military personnel), except $20.38 per person for groups of 10 or more. Click here to buy tickets. GROUP SALES (10+ tickets): Call 919-831-6058 or click here. INFORMATION: 919-831-6058 or info@theatreinthepark.com. PLEASE DONATE TO: Theatre in the Park.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Robert W. McDowell has written articles for The News & Observer, The Raleigh Times, Spectator Magazine, CVNC, Triangle Arts and Entertainment, and Triangle Review, all based in Raleigh. He edits and publishes two FREE weekly e-mail newsletters. Triangle Review provides comprehensive, in-depth coverage of local performing-arts events. (Start your FREE subscription by e-mailing robertm748@aol.com and typing SUBSCRIBE-TR in the Subject: line.) McDowell also maintains a FREE list of FREE movie sneak previews called FFL FREE. (To subscribe, e-mail robertm748@aol.com and type SUBSCRIBE-FFL in the Subject: line.)

 

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