The Girl on the Train at Flat Rock Playhouse
The regional premiere of The Girl on the Train at Flat Rock Playhouse marks the beginning of spooky season with a devilishly fun murder mystery.
Based on the Paula Hawkins novel and the 2016 film adaptation, Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel’s stage adaptation features an unreliable narrator in Rachel Watson (Leslie Collins), an alcoholic who’s seemingly obsessed with her ex-husband Tom (Michael Shenefelt) and his new wife Anna (Gracie Winchester). The only things she cares about more are the strangers next door, whom she spies on from the train to London and invents names to complete her fantasy: Jess (Laura Woyasz) and her husband Jason (William Connell). All five people live in the small town of Witney, England, a suburb of Oxford.
Rachel views the couple as her friends, watching them live the life she so desperately craves. One day, she witnesses Jess cheating on Jason with another man (Jason Rojas). Rachel drinks herself into a blackout upon witnessing the cheating, and thanks to Detective Inspector Gaskill (Scott Treadway, celebrating his 40th season with FRP), discovers that Jess — whose real name is Megan Hipwell — has gone missing. She then contacts Megan’s husband Scott under the pretense that she and his wife are friends.
Adapting an unreliable narrator for the stage is a tricky undertaking but Wagstaff, Abell, director Lisa K. Bryant, and the FRP team do an admirable job. Not having read the book or seen the film version before attending the performance, the mystery proved relatively easy to follow and the tension was nicely broken by a few humorous moments. The performances are solid across the board, but Treadway steals the show with his knowing looks when Rachel claims to “never drink.”
The confusion Rachel feels when trying to separate her imagination and false memories from reality is felt by the audience as well. Collins genuinely brings Rachel to life with a blend of authentic desperation and an intensity that only those who have been gaslit will know. Additionally, two actors look similar enough from the seats that it’s easy to understand why Rachel might confuse them from her locomotive seat. (As you can probably guess, the story has some pretty heavy themes of alcoholism and abusive relationships, so keep that in mind.)
The set for this production is also truly impressive. Thanks to mobile backdrops, the stage almost has an appearance of being on a turntable. The settings roll seamlessly between Rachel’s destroyed bedroom to the Hipwells’ stylish living room and the Watsons’ new-baby-disordered home, complete with pauses in between for the therapist’s office and the train station. Kudos to Dennis Maulden for making the stage seem so much larger.
Now having also seen the film, I can confidently say that the play is far easier to follow. It’s a solid enough mystery to keep you guessing at how Megan goes missing, and the aftermath of why.
The Girl on the Train runs through Saturday, Sept. 2. For details and tickets, visit FlatRockPlayhouse.org.
(Photos by Treadshots)
