Broadway producers traditionally gauge audience reaction by warm applause at the end of Act 1 or a standing ovation during curtain call. But “Paranormal Activity” producer Simon Friend laughs while recalling the profane reaction of a man scared for his life while watching the play: “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
“Paranormal Activity,” which opens at the August Wilson Theatre on Aug. 14, was inspired by the 2007 thriller that made $194 million at the box office on a budget of $15,000. The story centers on James and Lou, a young couple who encounter increasingly disturbing happenings in their new home.
Make no mistake: “Paranormal Activity” is intended to be a horror movie onstage — and designed to draw a much different audience than the Great White Way is used to entertaining.
“I hope people who might not go to see plays but know the movie take a chance, that the thought of being terrified in New York City is a thrill,” says director Felix Barrett. “Hopefully get a taste for how potent and powerful live theatricality can be.” The production premiered in Leeds, England, before transferring to the West End and then playing in markets like Los Angeles, D.C. and Chicago.
Friend sees opportunity in the cultural moment, with indie upstarts like “Backrooms” and “Obsession” recently topping the box office. But Broadway is a different beast, and the real question is whether horror audiences are willing to go beyond their local multiplex in search of frights. Success on the stage hasn’t come easily: “Grey House,” from “Paranormal Activity” writer Levi Holloway, closed after three months, and slashers-turned-musicals “Evil Dead: The Musical” and “American Psycho” didn’t last long in New York City.
