What Did Critics Think of Duncan Sheik and Kyle Jarrow's Off-Broadway Musical Whisper House?

The reviews are in for The Civilians' presentation of the new musical ghost story Whisper House. Previews began January 11 at 59E59 Theaters, and the show officially opened January 20.

Whisper House features music and lyrics by Duncan Sheik (Tony-winning composer of Spring Awakening) and a book and lyrics by Kyle Jarrow (Tony-nominated for the book of Spongebob Squarepants), and was conceived with Keith Powell. The Civilians Artistic Director Steve Cosson directs the work, with choreography by Billy Bustamante.

Set during the height of World War II, Whisper House follows a young boy who is sent to live with his Aunt Lily, and Yasuhiro, who works with her, on the remote coast of Maine. Before long, the young Christopher begins to hear strange music seeping through the walls of his new eerie lighthouse home.

The cast includes Samantha Mathis as Lily, Wyatt Cirbus as Christopher, James Yaegashi as Yasuhiro, Jeb Brown as The Sheriff, and Alex Boniello and Molly Hager as Ghosts.

Read the reviews below.

Exeunt NYC (Lane Williamson)

New York Magazine/Vulture (Helen Shaw)

New York Stage Review (Elysa Gardner)

The New York Times (Alexis Soloski)

Theater Pizzazz (Brian Scott Lipton)

Time Out NY (Adam Feldman)

Playbill will continue to update this page as reviews come in.

The production features wind orchestrations by Simon Hale, orchestrations by Sheik and Jason Hart, additional musical arrangements and music direction by Wiley DeWeese, scenic design by Alexander Dodge, costume design by Linda Cho, lighting design by Jorge Arroyo and Jeff Croiter, and sound design by Ken Travis. Megan Dickert serves as production stage manager, and Annie Wang is the dramaturg.

For tickets or more information, click here.