Alchemist Theatre’s Aaron Kopec returns to Halloween with another horror show for the month of October. Pepper’s Ghost is a fun horror-comedy fusion that plays light with shades of something deeper. David Sapiro is engrossingly passionate as a playwright named Donald who has grown tired of doing empty Halloween shows. He longs for something of more depth. Nate Press reaches a clever level of comedy as Max, a techie working with the playwright who suggests the possibility of doing high-end specialized horror shows in the homes of the wealthy that have been tailored specifically to them and their family histories.
A lithe and dramatically agile April Paul plays Mrs. Pepper, the first client of Donald and Max. Time melts and mutates in a sharp script about a haunting being staged in a haunted house. One day becomes two days becomes a week and it becomes apparent that the fake haunting has come to rest within something very real. The cast features a lot of personality in and around the edges. Liz Whitford elegantly charms as a wealthy socialite who has arranged the meeting between the playwright and his client. Sammi Kaufman is a fun contrast as an improv comic who can’t seem to figure out where the stage isn’t.
The flow of action from one scene to the next is well paced. Kopec seems to have stopped just short of pulling a brilliant theme out of the interplay between horror fantasy and the horror of reality. Even without the deeper themes reaching their full potential, this is a hugely entertaining show with a stylishly immersive visual feel about it.
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Through Oct. 28 at the Alchemist Theatre, 2569 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. For tickets, visit thealchemisttheatre.com.
