Theatre Review: The Harvest sends audiences on a hair-raising witch hunt

The Harvest (currently at the Count’s Den in downtown Los Angeles) edges Last Call Theatre further into the horror genre they skirted with their science-fiction efforts: instead of the anomalous humanoid mutants of Signals and The Showroom, the subject this time is witches – and those who seek to destroy them. Set in the isolated village of Windsor Grove, the play depicts what happens when outsiders are invited to attend the annual Harvest Festival for the first time since witchcraft was eradicated a century ago. Officially, the town remains untainted by black magic, but beneath the professed confidence lie submerged doubts and suspicions. Have some residents been practicing their craft in secret?

An interactive theatrical production, The Harvest casts you – the audience – as the visitors attending Windsor Grove’s annual festival. As outsiders, you have no part in the town’s dark history, so you can act as impartial observers charged with discoverng who, if anyone, is guilty of witchcraft. In effect, the play is a mystery, and you are the detective. You will determine who is suspected, accused, and possibly executed; the actions you take send the story branching onto paths that lead to multiple potential endings.

The intriguing premise is executed with clever clues and engaging performances, but the interactive element at its heart is a genuine wildcard. Like previous Last Call Theatre productions, The Harvest offers a level of engagement beyond other immersive plays. Passive observation is possible, but active participation is almost essential to truly enjoy the proceedings. Consequently, the level of entertainment depends to some extent on each audience member’s actions. Those eager to play their part should have a great time; the wallflowers may feel left on the sidelines.

The Harvest Review: Hunting Witches

Arriving in Windsor Grove, you are welcomed by Mayor Corey (Preston Grant), who introduces you to the other residents, including Father Gabriel (Vicente De Saintignon), Isaac (Brit Baltazar), and Sheriff Auggie (Evan Wank), among others, and you are advised to pick and follow a character whose interest align with yours in order to have the best chance of following a clear plotline. Much optimism is expressed about the occasion of the town’s first visitors to the Harvest Festival in a hundred years, but as you talk to the characters and perform their requests, doubts start to emerge.

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The first hint that something sinister still lurks in Windsor Grove arrives when the harpsichordist (Darica Louie) somewhat cheekily performs a rendition of Camille Saint-Saëns’s Danse Macabre (not sure how that title was approved for the playlist by Father Gabriel!). The first full-blown manifestation takes place when Martha (Kale Hinthorn) is struck blind during a dance, leading to an accusation lodged against her dance partner Robin (Elena Scaringe-Peene). Martha soon recovers (has the spell been lifted, or was she faking?), but the accusation stands, and now you must find evidence to convict or acquit.

The Harvest Review: Play Your Part

What action you take and what evidence you find depends on the character with whom you align yourself. Father Gabriel, whose idea it was to invite outsiders to the harvest is eager to employ in his efforts to ensure that witchcraft remains extinct within the town. Isaac, a descendant of the last witch executed in Windsor Grove, insists that the official history is filled with lies and apparently keeps up his ancestor’s practices (though whether he would call them “witchcraft” is another matter). And Sheriff Augie is so insistently skeptical on the subject of witches that he comes across as someone nervously denying something he is too afraid to consider.

We learned all of this while carrying out the request of Father Gabriel, who sent us seeking a book relating the history of Windsor Grove. As sometimes happens in Last Call Theatre productions, this was a bit of a narrative cul-de-sac. The various people who had passed the book from one to another had little to say about its contents, and the book itself, when discovered, had only a few relevant pages, mostly relating what we already knew.

Then when we returned the book to Father Gabriel, he brushed us off with a brief thank-you for our efforts. No new quest – just thank you, and that was that. We would have been happy to take our own initiative – but it seemed to contradict the admonition about sticking with one character throughout the show. Why stick around with someone who seems to be done with you? After a brief detour with another character,* we reconnected with Father Gabriel, who finally gave us another task, but by the time we were close to completing it, other events took over, leaving us as spectators more than participants to the grim finale.

This sort of hiccup is not a deal-breaker for us, but it does diminish the impact of the interactive element, which is a key feature of Last Call Theatre’s work. But your mileage may vary, depending on the path you take, which may lead to a completely different ending. For us there was a slight sense of futility, as if despite our efforts we had no impact on the outcome and might as well have remained passive observers.

*Footnote: Ironically, this detour was the best part of the show for us, as we encountered a mysterious, Mephistophelean figure identified only as “The Influence,” who was offering rewards to those lost souls foolish enough to sign their name in his book. And he was interested not only in the inhabitants of Windsor Grove but also the visitors, creating a truly creepy level of interaction as he bartered over what deepest wish he could fulfill in order to convince each supplicant to sign in blood. Perhaps we should revisit The Harvest and spend more time with him.

The Harvest Review: Conclusion

The Harvest is, in a sense, not one play but many. Depending on the path one takes, the experience can be entirely different. This uncertainty is a gambit that can yield an incredible advantage, engaging audience members more intimately than conventional theatre can achieve; when the results payoff, the impact can be profound (as it was for us in Last Call’s Abandoned).

The Harvest does not hit that high-water mark for us. It is still entertaining from start to finish, and the ending we saw was effectively horrifying. But we did not have that weird, parasocial-type experience in which you believe not only in the characters but also believe yourself to be one of the characters. Yes, we shared the performance space with the cast, but by the end we felt as if we were sitting in the audience.

The Harvest Review: Photogallery

A Spirit welcomes the audience to the show.

Darica Louie and Elena Scaringe-Peene perform before the show.

Mayor Corey (Preston Grant) welcomes outsiders to Windsor Grove.

Audience roams the Count’s Den, interacting with characters.

Brit Baltazar as Isaac

First sign the devil is afoot is when Violet (Darica Louie) plays Camille St Saens’ “Danse Macabre” at the Harvest festival.

Witchcraft strikes down Martha (Kale Hinthorn).

History of witches in WIndsor Grove is revealed in a book.

Clues to identify potential witches

Sheriff Auggie (Evan Wank) gets nervous when presented with evidence of witchcraft.

In one of the show’s multiple endings, Father Gabriele prepares to burn Eliza (Ronan Rinzler) at the stake.

Brit Baltazar as Isaac is surprised by some news; PC_ Charly Charney Cohen

Elena Scaringe-Peene as Robin tells a story; PC_ Charly Charney Cohen

Hiro Korsgaard as the Influence offers a deal to those willing to take it; PC_ Charly Charney Cohen

Kale Hinthorn as Martha; PC_ Charly Charney Cohen

Preston Grant as Mayor Corey speaks with their sibling Elena Scaringe-Peene as Robin; PC_ Charly Charney Cohen

Rena Bobbs as Abigail confronts Vicente de Saintignon as Father Gabriel; PC_ Charly Charney Cohen