New York theater critics have given mixed reviews to the new musical Whisper House, which had its premiere in 2010 at San Diego’s Old Globe, played London in 2017, and is now being presented Off-Broadway by The Civilians at 59E59. The story follows young Christopher, a boy sent to a remote coastal Maine town during WWII to live with his aunt Lily in her haunted lighthouse home. The creative team includes Keith Powell (concept), Kyle Jarrow (book, lyrics), Duncan Sheik (lyrics, music, orchestrations), Steve Cosson (direction), Billy Bustamante (choreography), Simon Hale and Jason Hart (orchestrations), Wiley DeWeese (music direction, arrangements), Alexander Dodge (sets), Linda Cho (costumes), Jorge Arroyo and Jeff Croiter (lights), and Ken Travis (sound). The cast includes Wyatt Cirbus (Christopher), Samantha Mathis (Lily), James Yaegashi (Yasuhiro), Jeb Brown (Sheriff), and Alex Boniello and Molly Hager (Ghosts).
New York Stage Review (Elysa Gardner): In Sheik and Kyle Jarrow’s bleak, beguiling chamber musical Whisper House, two of the seven characters … address the others, and the audience, from beyond the grave, and they’re among the most alluring and spiteful spirits you’re likely to have encountered. … The air of doom and gloom that duly pervades Whisper House can generally seem overstated at times; it doesn’t help that Jarrow’s book offers only flashes of dry humor. … In the end, Sheik’s music alone makes you hope that Whisper House will enjoy another life; it has stuck around this long, after all, and a little editing never killed anyone.
New York Times (Alexis Soloski): The music haunts prettily. When the ghosts are singing, anyway. But none of the living characters feel precisely real, and the book scenes totter under the weight of metaphor. … The trouble with the story, conceived with Keith Powell, is that you have to abandon psychology to make it happen. … But the music is mostly lovely, if unvaried. … The ultimate theme of Whisper House is that we must love another or die, a comforting thesis in a moment that demands — in every auditorium — so much mutual faith and care. Then again, there are the paired, smirking ghosts to imply the contrary. Turns out you can love another and die.
Theater Mania (Zachary Stewart): A ghost could be a metaphor for lingering guilt or an actual spirit occupying the dark shadows of your home. … Composer Duncan Sheik and librettist Kyle Jarrow cleverly leave that question up for debate in their haunting chamber musical. … Sheik and Jarrow occasionally trade coherence for gothic atmospherics. … Luckily, Steve Cosson’s lucid direction keeps the story on track and makes us eager for more. … Whisper House manages to combine a gorgeous musical, a satisfying ghost story, and a cautionary tale. … Don’t let this show be one of those theatrical ghosts you wish you had seen when you had the chance.
Theater Pizzazz (Brian Scott Lipton): Jarrow’s book unfurls with the elegance of a finely crafted short story, as it details the changing lives of its central characters. … Jarrow’s story is compelling enough that the show’s score … could easily seem superfluous. In fact, only a few numbers are actually sung by any of the aforementioned characters. … We hear mostly from two gorgeous 1920s-era ghosts. … Their songs are definitely the catchiest in the score. … Theatergoers seeking the spectacle of Wicked, the novelistic approach of Les Miserables or the giddiness of Six may not find the show to their liking, but audiences seeking small-scale pleasure will want to make a visit to this House.
Time Out (Adam Feldman): Duncan Sheik and Kyle Jarrow have been working on Whisper House for more than a decade, but it still seems oddly undeveloped. … The four living characters barely sing at all; instead, the vast majority of the score is assigned to a pair of attractive ghosts. … Whisper House works fine when the living characters are given room to breathe … and Sheik’s moody music, whose emotional pull transcends the libretto, is rendered well. … But there’s only so far the show can travel when it’s chained to the dead weight of those two drowned specters. … It may be time to give up the ghosts. 2 out of 5 stars.