When the first jump scare happened during Geva Theatre’s production of “The Woman in Black” on Tuesday, a woman two seats down grabbed her friend’s arm and yelped. By the fourth jump scare, she said (loudly), “I’m gonna fight him!” The decent-sized crowd that had shuffled in from a n icy 10-degree January night to endure two hours of bleakness the way only the English can tell a story may have shared her fervor at that point.  “The Woman in Black” is the second-longest running play in the history of the West End (London’s Broadway, as it were), and its longest-running ghost story (since the longest-running play is Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap”). This particular retelling of the 1983 Gothic horror novel by Susan Hill is the original London production adapted by Stephen Mallatratt. It opened Off-Broadway in 2020, and in 2021, relocated to The McKittrick Hotel, famous for immersive, site-specific works like “Sleep No More.” If “The Woman in Black” sounds familiar at all otherwise, there’s also a 2012 film adaptation starring a wide-eyed Daniel Radcliffe. This version of the plot follows aging lawyer Arthur Kipps (played by David Acton), who was sent many years ago to a rural English town to manage the estate of a recently deceased reclusive widow. At her funeral, strange things began to take place — and soon, the young solicitor discovered the town holds a terrible darkness. Years later, he approaches an actor (played by Ben Porter) to help him finally tell the whole story to the world, and there the play begins.  “The Woman in Black” received the Best Play Revival Award from the Off-Broadway Alliance and was nominated for three Drama League Awards, including Outstanding Play Revival and Distinguished Performance Award for Porter and Acton, who reprise their roles in the Geva production alongside rotating third actor James Byng (who did not perform Tuesday). Photo by Jenny Anderson for The McKittrick Hotel. The duo onstage takes a little time to warm up, but it’s part of the schtick, and it works for a few cheap laughs from an audience unsure of what’s about to happen. “Is this scary?” someone whispers as the lights dim.  Acton plays a bumbling older lawyer who has no acting chops until he does, and Porter keeps a tight rein on the pacing once the plot starts moving. The two have a splendid chemistry, and it’s not hard to see why they’ve stayed with the production for the better part of a decade (or, perhaps, vice versa), along with their invisible guide, director Robin Herford.  Porter’s emotional depth and Acton’s character versatility begin to build the world around Eel Marsh House — and special effects like lighting, sound and smoke-meant-to-be-sea-fog do the rest. The set design is stark, props minimal and costumes functional. The decorative fabric of the story exists largely in the mind’s eye of the audience, and that’s what makes the suspense more powerful. No one knows the next move.  In favor of tightening up runtimes and eliminating intermissions, “The Woman in Black” could’ve easily been 80 or 90 minutes. Instead, a meandering opening slow-burns to a climactic, heart-pounding 45 minutes or so bookending the 15-minute intermission (the show runs about two hours total). And while it’s recommended for ages 12 and up, only bring a thick-skinned youngster to this one; even some of the adults in the audience were rattled by the end.  It’s questionable why Geva chose to program such a chilling, hopeless show during what is unquestionably Rochester’s coldest, grayest season, but myriad operational or booking factors were likely involved. From this writer — whose Irish sensibilities quite fancy a darker show, usually — a request for next season’s bleak midwinter production: send in the clowns! “The Woman in Black” runs through February 8. Tickets and more info here. The post REVIEW | “The Woman in Black” appeared first on CITY Magazine. Arts. Music. Culture.. ...read more read less