Paranormal Activity is a bad omen for Broadway

Nowadays on Broadway , you've got to have a gimmick.

It's not enough to be beloved or even acclaimed.

Just look at Cats: The Jellicle Ball, a bodacious revival that re-imagined Andrew Lloyd Webber's Broadway smash as a ballroom runway, bringing the audience into the experience and onto the stage.

Critics cheered, audiences clacked their fans in appreciation, and the Tonys gave three awards, including Best Direction of a Musical.

Yet, none of that stopped The Jellicle Ball from closing weeks after it received those Tony flowers.

Even a grateful community that loved Cats, Webber, or ballroom culture couldn't keep Jellicle Ball rolling.

So, it's little surprise that Broadway producers are favoring a seemingly endless array of theatrical adaptations of movies, TV, and other popular IP.

Just this year, Broadway saw The Lost Boys: A New Musical , Titanique , Schmigadoon , and Dog Day Afternoon competing for crowds, while Heated Rivalry got an off-Broadway unofficial parody faster than it got a vinyl soundtrack release .

Some of these were marvelous, others interesting, and then there was Beaches .

SEE ALSO: 'Beaches: A New Musical' review: Jessica Vosk gives her all to a disastrous Broadway adaptation Now, Paranormal Activity joins the fray.

The theatrical production that premiered in Leeds ahead of a West End debut in 2025 has been garnering praise along its path to Broadway, which included a sold-out run in Los Angeles.

The buzz was so infectious that I entered the August Wilson Theatre giddy with anticipation.

Unfortunately, what Paranormal Activity has to offer is not a great night at the theater.

It's a series of jump scares that falls short of the spectacle Broadway demands.