Suspension of disbelief is a necessary element for any theatrical experience. More to the point, it is invaluable to have when trying to create something scary. If an audience does not feel fully invested in whatever they are watching, their interest is lost. Writer, Director Jon Braver returned this year with his brilliantly twisted and lavishly produced experience, Delusion: Lies Within. Like other years, he has a unique trick up his sleeve that keeps the audiences attention. . . Jon casts his audience in the play.
Delusion: Lies Within is a new haunted play experience that expands on the world built by the previous years, while telling a totally new story. However, in order to involve the audience, Jon gives them a backstory. Quoted directly from the Delusion website we read the storyline that tells you what your character is all about.
Your obsession has led you here. You stand before the manor of the great author, Elena Fitzgerald. To the larger world, Miss Fitzgerald is a beloved novelist, creator of the Stygian Ascent; a twisted epic of dark fantasy.
To you, Elena is everything.
You’ve wept over the lives and deaths of her characters. You’ve dreamt of walking within her world; a dark world that follows the life of Elena’s daughter, Mary, on a hopeless quest to be rejoined with her mother. Part fiction, part reflection of reality… as Elena’s own daughter went missing before the series began.
For years now, no books have been released, nor has there been any sign of Mary or Elena. In its place, we hear only rumors of suicide, starvation… madness.
Like Elena, you have suffered long enough. You will invade Miss Fitzgerald’s manor. Her story must continue, must find its end to bring peace to your long-waiting minds.
In short: It’s Misery meets The Never Ending Story. Your favorite author has stopped writing a series of books after her daughter goes missing. As we arrive in the story we are sneaking into Elena’s house to find out what happened.
The experience begins as you check in at the “Box Office” table and are assigned a group. Each group consists of no more than 12 people. There is no line to wait to get in. Instead, there is a lounge where audience members can relax. The lounge area features a light refreshment bar and is cluttered with set dressing that hints at the story that you are about to experience.
The play begins when Host Elizabeth circulates in the outdoor lounge, looking for your group. Once together, Elizabeth walks you to the gates of Elena’s mansion and you break in. Inside we meet Ruth, a headstrong ruffian who has already broken into the mansion seeking the same answers we do. Where is Elena? Where is Elena’s daughter, Mary? Why are there no more stories?
We soon realize that reality and fiction have merged as Elena’s creative powers prove too powerful for her to control. What happens next? Well, to give you that would be to reveal the ending. We can’t do that now can we?
The creative team behind this amazing interactive play creates a convincing reality using a tapestry of nearly every theatrical trick at their disposal. From a technical standpoint, this show is a marvel. The audience is thrust into an interior world that is at once fully engrossing, yet inexplicable. Detailed sets by Kevin Williams and Sean Hendry surround you and your group as you are guided through room after room of plot twists and intrigue. The danger is always prescient as the haunting original score by composer Siddhartha Barnhoorn looms in the aural periphery. Finally the remarkable script by Jon Braver and first time collaborator, Peter Cameron, keep the plot moving at a brisk pace while the tasks are just solvable enough to keep the action moving at a breakneck speed.
We would also be remiss if we did not mention the fine cast that is shouldered with shepherding the audience through the show. The actors have to walk a very fine line here between guiding the storyline and forcing an answer to push the narrative forward. Zoe Mallen gives her portrayal of Ruth a plucky and resourceful vibe that helps guests get into the interactive elements of the show. Eric Pierce lends the character of James a shaky, yet dashing, turn as he leads the show through the second half.
Delusion: Lies Within began its run in early October and continues to enjoy multiple extensions as word spreads about this one-of-a-kind theatrical experience. The show is not presented at a normal theatre. It is presented at a found location, in this case an old mansion in Los Angeles. Instead of watching the actors, you join with the actors. This is not a haunted house, this is not an extreme haunt, this is theatre that masquerades as a haunt. It is a wonderful masterpiece that is, without question, the very best haunted attraction that we have experienced this year.
The show is so good that it has been extended well beyond Halloween.
How can YOU see it? Pray for more extensions. Then, get on the Delusion mailing list RIGHT NOW. Otherwise you may just have to wait until next year. Good luck!
Directed by Jon Braver
Written by Jon Braver & Peter Cameron
Produced by Glendell Entertainment
Music by Siddhartha Barnhoorn