Actors Sophia Anne Caruso and Millicent Simmonds, both known for their film and theater work, are set to star together in Levi Holloway’s Grey House. The psychological thriller play will begin previews on April 29 and officially open on May 30 at the Lyceum Theatre. This marks Simmonds’s Broadway debut, with Caruso already having made a name for herself in the industry. The play also features two-time Tony Award winners Laurie Metcalf and Joe Mantello, who is directing the production.
In a recent Broadway Direct feature, the actors share their insights on Grey House. Simmonds, who is deaf, says through an American Sign Language interpreter, “It’s very layered, very complex. There are a lot of clues embedded in the play, complex relationships between the characters; the house itself is a character. The story looks at dynamics within a family and asks, What is a maternal figure? What does being a mother mean?” Caruso, who describes the play as a “psychological thriller,” agrees, stating, “The topic of Mama is very heavy here, and there are different examples of motherhood… I think there’s a lot left to interpretation. Every time I reread it, or every time I’m working through something, I have a completely new take on a scene, or the play as a whole.”
Simmonds has found a supportive cast in her Broadway debut, as her fellow actors began learning sign language even before she entered the rehearsal room. She expresses her excitement, saying, “It was really exciting to be greeted that way, so that I could talk to them without an interpreter being present. My experience with the whole ensemble has been awesome.”
Caruso praises director Joe Mantello, whom she previously worked with in her Broadway debut, 2016’s Blackbird: “I really think he is just Broadway’s best. I love his attention to detail; he’s very precise, very specific. And he’s an actor as well, and a wonderful person. Hopefully, I’ll work with him 100 times if I’m lucky.”
To describe their characters in Grey House, Caruso uses animal metaphors, calling Marlow “a bird of prey” and “a sphinx cat in her aura.” Simmonds says, “Bernie is very watchful, very observant. She’s deaf, so it’s interesting to see her find ways to communicate with different people in the house, to find different languages.”
Both actors hope the play will captivate and intrigue audiences. Simmonds playfully quips, “I hope it scares them enough that they wet their pants—but again, it is a very complicated story. All these questions come up in the show.” Caruso concurs, “You’ll still be figuring it out when you leave.”
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