Phantoms by Firelight at Old Sturbridge Village is a Spooky Outdoor Performance (5 stars)
Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) is one of my favorite destinations. It’s a living history museum from the 19th century with old-time buildings and costumed re-enactors who teach you how, for example, tin smithing or pottery was done in the past. They have many creative annual events, and Phantoms by Firelight, their Halloween celebration, is not to be missed.
Their grounds stay open after dark, and you can explore the campus in the moonlight and through the forest. The scene is naturally spooky, but safe for kids, enhanced with a camp fire on the village common, fires in the sawmill pond, and special effects like a string of Halloween lights that stutter like lightning strikes. They play spooky music throughout the grounds, and you’ll see lit torches lining parts of the pathways.
Just attending OSV at night is a delight. It was so great to see happy families with cute kids, many in costume, enjoying the night. Then in addition they add storytellers at the campfire, fire spinners, a live band, and actors. This year, the show is the story of Frankenstein, which of course is set in the 19th century, like OSV itself. Unlike at Mystic Seaport, the regular daytime OSV attractions were closed.
Strolling around is part of the experience. The theatre performance is not just set at one stage in one location. The actors perform in different places across Old Sturbridge Village, which represent for example Frankenstein’s Laboratory or the Arctic North. So as a guest you either follow the characters from one place to another, or roam around picking up what scenes you can. The story can be seen out of order.
This year in Phantoms by Firelight, actors don’t speak lines of dialogue. The primary story, believe it or not, is told through dance! Instead, upbeat, spooky rock music and choreography recreated the emotions of the characters. When Dr. Frankenstein is agonized about creating his monster, he dances like that. When the monster feels he needs something, he dances like that.
Frankenstein is a complicated story that the audience could partly understood just from dance, and I did favor the energetic performances that had dialogue, such as the stories told by campfire. And kudos to the arctic explorer who, with dialogue, made us laugh and scream with delight! But I respect taking artistic risks, and I get it that driving story points wasn’t the show’s main artistic purpose. It’s a rock opera, where emotions matter more than story! The performances were powerfully atmospheric and spooky, thrilling. A great time was had by all.
A couple of nitpicks. The map and show schedule was hard to use, and we spent more time walking between performances than viewing them. At the old-time tavern, long lines could be reduced with an extra cashier or Ye Old self-scanners.
Those nitpicks don’t take away from what is an extraordinary experience. I’m glad to give Phantoms by Firelight a full five stars. For more, see osv.org.