Isn’t it time to come back home?

The Willows, the immersive theater experience that blew us all away when it first arrived in mid-2017, is back to remind us of what a groundbreaking production it was and continues to be. Back then, the idea of staging such a costly and elaborate production outside of the months leading up to Halloween was nigh unthinkable, especially one that eschews overt scares and thrills for a sense of dread and paranoia that slowly bubbles to the top over the course of its two-hour ride.

I have had the good fortune to spend three evenings with The Willows over the three years it has been running and at this point, it’s taken on the feeling of a bizarre family reunion. After my most recent evening with the family, and a total of roughly six hours taking in this world and its inhabitants, I feel I’ve truly had my fill of what this experience has to offer. But then I also had that impression coming off my second visit and this one still managed to hit me with powerful moments that continue to leave an impression days later, so it seems the spell it cast will linger a little longer.

The basic narrative structure has remained the same since its original run. A member of the Willows family, Jonathan, has recently died and you, a nebulously-defined distant family member or friend of Jonathan’s, have been invited to a party in his memory. You make your way into the classical, yet eclectic mansion that has been passed down through the generations into a lounge space where you’re introduced to many of the characters before dinner is served.

The dinner itself takes up a decent portion of the show and serves as a sort of improvisational playground for the actors. There are certain beats that need to be hit to propel the central story arc, but outside of those moments, you’re left to simply inhabit the space and make the experience whatever you want it to be. It’s an approach I was first introduced to in another JFI production, 2016’s Creep, and nothing works quite as well in fleshing out the story organically in a way that leads to understanding these characters without having to be bashed over the head with exposition. From there the experience splinters into numerous individual character moments that continue this mentality of allowing the grander picture to emerge from grasping how these pieces fit together.

As for how the show has evolved since its inception, there are a handful of atmosphere and costuming changes I was able to confirm but this is still fundamentally the same show. It’s worth noting, however, that the only reason I knew that certain areas hadn’t been added was through talking with our founder, Norm, who had previously gone down that route. Even though we both ended up going down that same branch at one point, not only was the conversation different, with every member of the cast being very responsive to what they’re getting from guests, the basic flow of the interaction played out quite differently. Perhaps the greatest testament to just how surprising the show can be after repeated visits is that I ended up following a plot line that I didn’t know existed.

Deirdre (Deirdre Lyons) is the long-suffering family maid and spends much of her time hovering around in the background, making sure the meal is ready and everyone’s needs are attended to. I guess that’s why I didn’t expect her to have her own story arc. It’s not that she’s a peripheral character, in fact, she’s at the center of some of the most explosive moments of the night, but most of the time you will have limited direct interaction with her. Those that are selected for this path, however, are greeted by an incredibly fleshed-out character with a bittersweet story that fills in a part of this tapestry that is otherwise only hinted at. I can only hope it’s cathartic, as, in terms of its demands on the actress, it has to be up there with Angela.

While Deirdre is challenging in the sense that the role seems particularly emotionally-taxing, Angela (Noelle Urbano) just seems like a difficult character to pilot. Bipolar doesn’t even begin to describe this woman. With at least four different distinct modes, whoever takes on that role has to balance a character that moves from flirty to childlike to wrathful on a whim while maintaining that fundamental core that keeps these facets from becoming too disparate. This complex blend of temperaments comes together to create an open-ended character which highlights perhaps the most essential element of The Willows’ unpredictability, the actor’s unique fingerprint.

That evening the role of Angela was played by Noelle Urbano, as it had been on my previous visit in 2018 but there are also nights when Dasha Kittredge takes the reins, and while each performance hits the same notes, the mood they create can vary wildly based on where they place their emphasis. Even seeing Urbano’s performance on different nights, whether it was planned or as a response to what we as guests were giving her, resulted in a distinct impression of her character. The same can be said for Conrad, who when played that night by Chasen Chris didn’t have quite as much of a mischievous streak as when played by Mason Conrad but had his own innocence and solemnity that works well against some of the more aggressively insidious characters.

Claudia (Misha Reeves), the widow of the recently-deceased Jonathan, serves as the anchor that gives the performance its foothold in reality. Potentially the only (reasonably) sane one of the bunch, the fact that she has to stay hammered constantly to tolerate her existence is one of the first clues that something isn’t right here. Despite her crushing depression, she’s always quick with a sarcastic quip or a bit of dark humor to keep you on your toes. It would have been easy to give us something like the dinner scene in Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a hopeless trap filled with irredeemable monsters, but characters like Deirdre and Angela, either through their humor or their humanity, give the show that bit of levity that endears these characters to the audience and gives us a stake in their fates.

And then there’s Mrs. Willows (Melinda DeKay). The iron matriarch, the fount from which all this dysfunction arose, Mrs. Willows runs the show and you better treat this solemn occasion with the reverence it deserves or she will bury your soul with the icy stare of a thousand sexually-frustrated nuns. I do my best to not fail Mrs. Willows but inevitably I falter and then instantly regret my thoughts and deeds. There was a guy at this last performance that called her “grandma” and “Rosemary.” I’m pretty sure he’s dead now. At least, I don’t recall seeing him for the rest of the night. And if you ever manage to escape her sights (best assume she’s always watching) then her bulldog enforcer, Uncle Ricky (Tim Simek), isn’t far behind. If Angela’s performance was noteworthy for its unpredictability, DeKay should be noted for her consistency. Mrs. Willows never stops being terrifying, which isn’t to say she doesn’t have emotional range, just that she manages to turn all of those emotions into different shades of terror.

There really is nothing else like The Willows. The tone is all its own, appealing to horror fans and the more mainstream theatre community that might be put off by something more gratuitous. It’s carried on the backs of a large cast, consisting of the highest caliber of performers in immersive theater and a team nearly that size working silently, behind-the-scenes to make sure everything goes as planned without the guests noticing any seams or stitches.

Tickets aren’t cheap, nearing $160/person with tax and no amount of praise I can heap on them will make a two-hour show worth that to some people. If, however, you’re the sort of person that gets front of the line tickets to Halloween Horror Nights every year, you might want to consider something like this for a change. You can’t spend all night at this show and there are no $12 hotdogs (soup, drinks, and appetizers are included) but it will immerse you in a way even the best million-dollar set at HHN cannot. I told myself this would be my last visit, but I’m sure if 2020 comes around and they’re still going, I’ll be itching to come back home. I do still need to see if Lindsay (Guy Picot), the butler, has his own storyline. Hopefully, the success of this style of show leads to the continuing adventures of the Willows family or at least sees this cast reunited in some other form.

Tickets are available at thewillowsla.com