The Boy Witch Party. Inferno 2015.
Inferno 2015 was my favorite McKittrick party.
Not only were there many sights and delights to discover, but everything tied into the theme so well: Boy Witch’s backstory as based on Peggy Lee’s “Is That All There Is?”, manipulated by Hecate. I loved having an entire party based around my favorite character and am awed that something so geekily awesome can also be so huge and popular.
I will try to recap some highlights. I didn’t see everything so please share your memories too! I’ve added a few photos which are mostly from the McKittrick gallery - anyone know the name of the photographer to credit? Any photos not from the McKittrick gallery are video screenshots, or my own crappy photos.
If you have any more videos or photos, please share them.
The Paisley Players were wonderful. They performed three pieces throughout the evening, in the style of a silent film comedy, introduced by the fabulous Elizabeth Romanski as an interpretation of Thomas Mann’s “Disillusionment” (which really was an inspiration for “Is That All There Is?”)
It starred Troy Ogilvie as a young Boy Witch, with Emily Terndrup, Paul Zivkovich, and Oliver Hornsby-Sayer in multiple roles. Paul and Olly as witches is always brilliant, and Olly as Boy Witch’s mother was hilarious.
Part 1 was the fire, and showed Boy Witch’s mischievous imaginary friend (Paul-witch) lighting a match, invoking Emily Terndrup as the personified flames (so clever!). Afterward the mother, and then the boy, slowly cleaned up the stage. The stylized props were so cool.
Part 2 was the circus, with Olly as the dancing bear, and Emily as the lady flying high above our heads. Olly lifted the bear head to reveal that he was a witch, and cut the strings holding the lady. She fell to a very dramatic death, complete with “splat!”
Part 3 was falling in love. Troy and Emily were the lovers, with Paul and Olly as witches, holding up a heart behind them and gagging ostentatiously. The boy left to get on a train, and then the witches stole the girl away and tied her to the train tracks, to be killed inadvertently by her own lover.
Elizabeth Romanski then serenaded us with “Is That All There Is?” (at the later dinner, sadly not at the earlier one).
The candles at dinner were shaped like houses. Houses on fire. I spent a good five minutes freaking out about clever this was.
Also, Annabella (Ava Lee Scott) made the rounds and spent a while with our table. She’s great at connecting with people.
Even the program was amazing. I am so grateful that they gave us a schedule of where to be when!
The show is never pleasant on party nights. I spent the whole time on Saturday with Boy Witch, because I wasn’t going to be able to focus on anything else anyway at a Boy Witch party.
The highlight of the party for me was the big ballroom sequences.
As with the Paisley Players, they told the Boy Witch’s backstory, based on “Is That All There Is?” - this time in the style of an epic, melodramatic tragedy.
As we entered the ballroom, Aaron Paul appeared as Boy Witch, doing the cabaret to “Is That All There Is?”, surrounded by a huge lit-up heart, labeled “Tunnel of Love.” Then Elizabeth Romanski appeared as Hecate, and together, they remembered the fire.
At this point all the Drowned Man fans started bawling, because the music as the action switched to the ballroom stage (“Avarice” from Hannibal) was also in some of the most heartbreaking scenes of Drowned Man.
The stage had been transformed into an actual moving carousel, where we witnessed the fire, and Hecate choosing the boy to become one of her witches. It was implied that one or both of his parents were killed in the fire, with Hecate as a monstrous replacement.
The rave was foreshadowed by characters in ominous goat head masks, and at the climactic moment, Hecate accused the boy of starting the fire. This transitioned into a performance of “Firestarter,” and the start of the dance floor. (The older Boy Witch was played by Austin Goodwin. The younger might have been Emily Oldak?)
Here is a video, a clip of the carousel sequence, and a clip of Firestarter.
The second scene, at midnight, was the circus. Troy Ogilvie appeared as the beautiful lady in pink tights, and Nick Bruder did the cabaret.
Austin Goodwin was a Boy Witch clown, doing choreography that was reminiscent of Paul Zivkovich’s clown from Drowned Man. (Austin is so good at this! My new dream is that they will revive Drowned Man and cast him as the Fool.)
The final scene, at 1am, began with Conor Doyle - the original Boy Witch - singing “Crazy in Love.” The feathers from his vest had extended to become wings, like a phoenix rising, a dark angel.
Behind him, Austin and Olly performed a sensual, longing remix of the Boy Witch/Porter phone booth duet. In this version, Boy Witch did not leave the Porter alone on the floor - he sank to the ground with him.
The next bit reminded me of what happens to Marshall at the private party in Drowned Man - I didn’t totally get it, but took it as the Boy Witch is complicit in luring the Porter to Hecate.
Hecate then stole the Porter away to his doomed quest, to be lost in the forest forever.
The lonely Conor Boy Witch sang his final cabaret, disappearing with the spin of the wheel to the last “Is that all there is?”
Hecate reappeared, and orchestrated Witches 2.
Here’s a video, another video further away, an up-close snippet, and another up-close snippet.
The first night when I saw this, I was very drunk and just super happy to see Conor as Boy Witch. The second night I couldn’t stop crying afterward.
I loved it so much. I’m in awe that they made "disillusionment” the theme of the party in a way that was very entertaining, yet also far more haunting than your typical Halloween scares.
The promise of no more tears - not no more sadness, just the inability to cry no matter how much you want to. The loss of innocence, the loss of human connection, the transformation into something dark and inhuman. It was very disturbing and very beautiful.
I have spent so many hours of my life watching the Boy Witch (and Porter). I love these characters. This was the most incredible tribute - it was so thoughtfully, lovingly created.
The detail, and the imagery, were extraordinary. The carousel deer looming behind Hecate, like the deer in the hotel lobby where the Porter is trapped. The feathers from the Boy Witch’s vest extending to become wings. The Porter and Boy Witch dancing together romantically, like the Porter so sadly dreams, alone at the mirror. The goat head imagery ominously foreshadowing the rave. The eyeliner as soot from the flames.
It exceeded my very high expectations beyond anything I could have imagined.
Aside from the ballroom scenes, there was also a lot of other awesome stuff happening during the party. So many places to go, surprises to discover, and opportunities for interaction. It felt much more engaging and welcoming to the audience than last year’s party.
The lobby became an insane asylum, populated by a group of dancers in creeptastic body suits that included Ida Saki, Tyler Phillips, Tony Bordonaro, Stephanie Crousillat, and Taylor Drury (I think?). Karen Marie sang. Thanks to the incredibly convenient schedule (!!!!) I knew when to go back and visit them throughout the night. The performances were totally over the top and fun - the idea was “theater as therapy,” the patients performing. I think there might have been some kind of plot but I didn’t see enough to tell - anyone know?
I am not entirely sure how the asylum ties in to the Boy Witch’s backstory, except that what he experiences can be read as a metaphor for depression or dissociation. (Though I don’t think it’s anything as literal as that.)
Eric Jackson Bradley took over lost luggage and performed 1:1s as a psychiatrist, asking people about their dreams. I didn’t experience this but several people told me it was wonderful.
Ginger Kearns was a Nurse, applying Boy Witch eye makeup to partygoers.
At the entry to the Porter’s office, I got a surprise 1:1 from Chelsey Ng, who is delightful, then sent into the Porter’s office to watch “Psycho” projected onto the wall. Very appropriate.
I am not sure what was on in the Manderley - at various points I walked through and I think I saw John William Watkins and Onalea Gilbertson - can anyone fill in details? The entry had been transformed to look like the mouth of a dark ride.
In the ballroom, one of the lounge areas was open so that anyone could sit (so nice!), and they were giving away popcorn and cotton candy.
Annabella was performing in the crypt, reading cards and making charms.
The third floor was open, with a live band playing in the Macbeths’ bedroom. Apparently the Macduff suites were also open? I popped in very briefly to this floor and missed most of whatever happened here.
The fourth floor opened shortly after midnight, via the Manderley elevator. The first night this went very smoothly - not knowing what to expect, I just wandered up there, went into the rep bar, got grabbed by Hope Davis, and went on an adventure into the Fun House.
This was similar to the Drowned Man “Studio 8 rave,” except smaller, a 4:4, each audience member pulled along by a character. I just remember flashes - Mallory Gracenin as Hecate in a fortune teller’s box, which reminded me of the Dust Witch in “Something Wicked This Way Comes.” Being in the interrogation room surrounded by witches - Stephanie Batten Bland and Miguel Anaya in addition to Hope Davis and Mallory Gracenin. Lots of screaming and cackling.
A couple of people told me they saw a “snake” and/or a “tentacle monster.” I did not see this and am curious which interpretation is accurate, if either.
Unfortunately the second night, this was something of a clusterfuck. Punchdrunk fans have been taught that when good things are happening, they will be rewarded for being present and engaged, so of course they went to where they knew it was. Yes, the party is better if people are partying instead of queuing, but there’s no point in staff lying that nothing is happening when it obviously is. Nobody seemed happy. There must be a better way to do this.
Luckily I had seen it the night before and didn’t want to reduce anyone else’s chance to see it, so I just went back downstairs and left them to their madness. It was a minor issue in light of how great everything else was.
Even the advertising for the party was awesome - the tarot corresponding to the song, the promo videos teasing the theme.
As I said, ultimately the party was about the ballroom sequences for me. It was everything that drew me in to Sleep No More, concentrated and expanded upon.
Overall verdict: this party was extraordinary. I can’t imagine that they’ll ever top it.
