Tiffany Townsend and Sophia Hunt in Empty the House. (Photo by William Brown Photography)

It rained nonstop in Philadelphia the evening I saw Riders to the Sea and Empty the House. But it was nothing compared to what happened on stage in two works awash with water as metaphor.

In Riders, a soul-sucking ocean robs a desolate woman of her husband and sons. Empty the House features a storm outside and a relentless dripping sound inside, as a mother and her angry adult daughter pack up a home still haunted by the ghost of a shunned son who ultimately died of AIDS.

Taken together, these atmospheric but bleak works provide a musical illustration of the notion that misery loves company…

Read the full review at Parterre Box.