With Halloween right around the corner, nothing screams holiday spirit like good old fashioned horror. This October, Pomona College’s theatre department is getting ready for the spooky season with their first production of the semester: “Hookman.”
Premiering Thursday, Oct. 2 at the Allen Theatre, “Hookman” turns the slasher genre on its head through its incorporation of horror and comedy in discussions on the heavier topics of grief, guilt and micro-aggressions. The play ran for four nights, and had its last show on Sunday, Oct. 5.
The narrative follows college freshman Lexi, played by Fiona Larsen-Teskey SC ‘26 , as she navigates her complex feelings over the death of her high school best friend Jess — while also being haunted by the titular Hookman. The story also features Lexi’s connection to her community during her grieving process, such as her roommate Yoonji and classmate Chloe.
Originally written by Chinese American playwright Lauren Yee, with the Pomona production being directed by visiting assistant professor of theater at Pomona, Talya Klein.
Attendee Joshua Lin PZ ’29 appreciated how the narrative was different from the typical horror films he was familiar with.
“A lot of slashers are just your typical, run-of-the-mill cheap horror,” Lin said. “But this one really feels like it’s got some depth to it … it’s got something that you’re able to look back and ruminate about.”
While the play borrows many elements from the mainstream slasher and horror genres — the titular Hookman killing and mutilating victims with his hook — it also parodies the genre through its satirical nature.
For example, when the Hookman cuts off Yoonji’s face, the utterly gruesome sequence is comically exaggerated and drawn out, causing the crowd to erupt with laughter.
Despite these lighthearted moments, the performance also contains many scenes that reflect Lexi’s inner thoughts and feelings, blurring the line between objective reality and her imagination.
The story is told through a series of scenes that switch between the present day and flashbacks to the night of Jess’ death. To reflect Lexi’s denial and inaccuracies in her memory, the set designers covered most of the stage in sheets of plastic to illustrate her foggy mental state.
However, as Lexi begins to remember more details from that night, the set gradually morphs to more clearly resemble the inside of her vehicle, the site of Jess’ death. With each succeeding flashback, the stage crew removed pieces of plastic, symbolizing Lexi’s growing mental clarity and inability to continue to deny what occurred.
Ultimately, audiences learn that the Hookman was never a real person to begin with. Rather, he is a manifestation of Lexi’s guilt over her involvement in Jess’ death, which was caused by Lexi’s reckless driving. Additionally, the audience discovers that the scene where the Hookman claws off Yoonji’s face was also just a figment of Lexi’s imagination.
In the final scene, Lexi finally confronts the Hookman face-to-face, which symbolizes her newfound conviction to confront her guilt head on.
Larsen-Teskey, who studies both theatre and psychology, chose to present this production for her senior thesis due to her fascination with the characters’ internal struggles.
“[One] part that really drew me to the show was the psychological aspects of it, because I am a psychology major,” Larsen-Teskey said. “I was like — her guilt and grief [are] manifested as this character of the Hookman who’s chasing her, but actually, [the Hookman] ends up being the one who … is just trying to help her see the truth.”
Nate Garcia PO ’26, who played the Hookman, commented on how this aspect of the narrative subverts the troupe of mainstream horror villains as forces of nature that cannot be reasoned with.
“[The Hookman]’s a very menacing character in the beginning of the play … looming over the scenes, even if he’s not in them,” Garcia said. “And then by the end, as it goes to the final confrontation, I think it subverts the expectations of what you think would happen when [Lexi] finally meets the Hookman.”
Although the story is centered on Lexi’s journey overcoming trauma and guilt, some students were drawn to the play’s subtle commentary on micro-aggressions and racial stereotyping in mainstream media. Through much of her work, the original playwright, Yee, calls attention to misconceptions people have about Asian Americans, including the model minority myth — an assumption that all Asian Americans are academically gifted and hard working.
“Lauren Yee typically writes plays that are commentaries on how Asian Americans are treated in the United States, and I think Yoonji is sort of a great example of a bunch of stereotypes that people have about Asian Americans,” Natalie Choi SC ’29, who played Yoonji, said. “I think her character at face value seems a little discriminatory, but it is actually a commentary on how [Asian Americans are] treated.”
The “Hookman” team hopes that audiences walked out of the theatre with some things to reflect on.
“I’d say, just for anyone who sees this show: process your trauma, process your grief … because if you don’t, it will come back to haunt you in other ways,” Larsen-Teskey said. “It always manifests in other ways.”
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