Whisper House--Bewitching New Musical 

      By Joseph Cervelli

An oddly entertaining, gothic style new musical has just opened at 59East59 Theaters called "Whisper House"  and if you let yourself be seduced by it you will find it bewitching. What should grab you most especially is the deliciously atmospheric score by Duncan Sheik ("Spring Awakening") who is responsible for the music and joined by Kyle Jarrow ("SpongeBob SquarePants The Musical") writing both wrote the book and lyrics. While the book is fascinating  it is the very enticing score that lingers in your mind.

Not many shows begin with two ghosts singing the opening number and who rarely leave the stage singing as roaming balladeers.  Mostly ghosts portrayed are not evil but these two (Alex Boniello and Molly Hager) are seeking revenge for something you will discover later in the musical. The opening number is called "Better to be Dead" referring to each of the characters and you know you are in for something very different. While the premise is simple, director Steve Cosson keeps you guessing exactly what is the relationship between the ghosts and the humans and what are the secrets that are being kept. And the show segues thoughtfully into racism and how jumping to conclusions leads to dire consequences. 

The time period is 1942 and  12 year old Christopher (Wyatt Cirbus)  whose father was killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor results in his mother being admitted to a mental facility for attempting suicide. Christopher's only family member is his Aunt Lily (Samantha Mathis) who was the sister of his dad and someone he has never met. Lily is a bit of a curmudgeon who never married and is living and running a lighthouse in Maine. She most certainly does not prefer having to care for a young boy.  Living in the bell tower is Yasuhiro (James Yaegashi) who emigrated to the United States long before war broke out. There is a kind and loving relationship between both of the adults. Yashuiro sings a lovely ballad about how difficult it was to make the transition to his new country in "The Art of Being Unseen." He sings about the memories in Japan and his devotion for Lily but cannot forget the reason he left his native born land. 

Complications come into play even though Lily and Christopher begin to forge a more understanding relationship when the sheriff (Jeb Brown) tells a story about a young boy turning in a German neighbor who might be a spy. The Sheriff sings the eerie "The Ballad of Solomon Snell" which will explain about the ghosts and indicates something concerning Lily that she explains to her nephew near the end of the show.

If not for xenophobia which ran rampant during this time period, things would not have taken a more serious and unpleasant turn for one of the characters affecting the others. 

The two ghosts are wonderfully played with an ethereal Hager and a very handsome Boniello who both harmonize together perfectly and move on and off the stage as if they are floating. They never seem to change their personalities which could have added a bit more to their characters, but they have this magnetic grace about them that you really find alluring in a daunting manner. 

Mathis makes her character much more likable as the musical  proceeds and a standout is Yaegashi as the kind and sympathetic character Yasuhiro. 

Brown does very well as the sheriff who becomes more understanding. While Cirbus is good I just wished he was a bit more animated. He has part of a song near the end and it would have added more to his character if the composers wrote a ballad for him somewhere earlier. 

The minimum but effective choreography is by Billy Bustamante and Alexander Dodge has created an inventive set design. 

Don't be put off by the coming and goings of the ghosts which may appear silly during the first 20 or so minutes because everything blends together very well.

 I found the show to be one of the most original of the season thus far. 

PHOTOS: Richard Termine

Tickets are available at 59E59 Theaters at 59 East 59th Street.