GOOSEBUMPS: A Scarily Amazing Play

From left to right (front row), Zoah Hirano as Brooke, William Jelenchick as Zeke, Olivia Schmitz as Cami, Fiona Castillo as Steve, and cast in Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium at First Stage. Photo credit: Paul Ruffolo

A review of Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium

by Jordan Staacke, age 11

Hi, my name is Jordan Staacke and this is my review of Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium at First Stage. This show isn’t just a play someone made - it is actually based on a book by the same name. The author of the book, R.L. Stine, also wrote every other Goosebumps story. In this review, I’ll cover the pros, the cons, the costuming, the set, and so much more. So relax, sit back, grab a snack, and let’s go!

The actors in the play fit their roles really well and truly amazed me. The cast had good voices, though they weren’t perfect. The songs that they performed were great, but it really annoyed me that the music got stuck in my head so much! My favorite part was the choreography, by Stephanie Staszak. The movements are crisp, they flow nicely, and it just makes you want to dance with them.

I also want to focus on the costuming (designed by Trinae Williams-Henning) and the set (designed by Martin McClendon). The costuming on the characters is very fit for the setting that is at a middle school. The set also was so detailed and I loved how they could transform the scenes from one to another. So crisp! If the set designer’s reading this, you did such an amazing job! Set designer to set designer, I’ve got a question: how did you make it look so real?

Now for this play there are also a few cons. It was not scary like I hoped it would be - which I get, because it’s for kids, but for something based on a horror book, it should be scarier. I also thought the cast was too small for such a big stage and didn’t really like how you could see the actors moving the set and getting offstage.

To conclude this review, Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium has pros and cons but my overall rating for this play… 3.5 stars!

⭐⭐⭐1/2

You have two more weekends to catch Goosebumps at First Stage, running through November 2nd!