Weather 
Following critically acclaimed, sold-out runs in Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston and London, Paranormal Activity has officially arrived on Broadway. Now playing at the August Wilson Theatre, the stage thriller is already getting the reaction its company hoped for: plenty of screams.
BroadwayWorld’s Richard Ridge caught up with the cast and creative team to find out what it’s like to finally bring the production to New York—and why experiencing horror alongside a packed Broadway audience makes the show especially thrilling.
For the company, the first Broadway preview marked an emotional milestone after the show’s journey through multiple cities.
“I feel like every city is a bit of a stress test for how we can deepen it and make it more honest and more crazy,” said playwright Levi Holloway.
“Friday was pretty surreal,” added Cher Álvarez, who plays Lou. “That was the first time that we had an audience, so it was a very emotional thing. It’s something that you dream about all the time. There’s a lot of pride and gratitude and sacrifice that got us here… I think I started crying, honestly. You take the bow for everyone that’s kind of led you here.”
While Paranormal Activity arrives with a built-in audience thanks to the hit film franchise, the team believes there is something uniquely exciting about bringing horror into a Broadway theatre—and letting more than a thousand people experience the scares together.
“I think people want to grip onto each other,” added Holloway. “We’re watching at home, we watch streaming, and often there’s no one next to you, so there’s something new about that. And now you’re going to have 1,100 people… screaming and holding on to each other, people they don’t even know.”
That communal experience has been part of the goal from the very beginning. Recalling the original film’s memorable marketing campaign, director Felix Barrett explained, “I thought, wow, can I imagine doing that in a theatre where you get an entire audience to scream? So that’s been our objective.”
Watch the video to hear more from the cast and creative team of Paranormal Activity as they celebrate bringing the scares to Broadway.
