Whisper House is written by Obie Award winner Kyle Jarrow, composed by Grammy and Tony Award winner Duncan Sheik with lyrics by Jarrow and Sheik and conceived with Keith Powell.

Drama Desk winner Ed Sylvanus Iskandar directs the industry presentation, which features local Boston talent. The visual designer is artist Mark Holthusen.

Whisper House, according to press notes, is described a such: "It’s 1942 – at the height of World War II– and Christopher, an imaginative young boy, is sent to live with an aunt he’s never met: Lily, a reclusive woman who serves as the keeper of a remote New England lighthouse. Not yet comfortable in his surroundings, Christopher begins to hear strange music no one else can hear seeping through the walls. It doesn’t take long for him to suspect the lighthouse may be haunted, and these ghosts tell him that Yasuhiro, a Japanese worker that Lilly has employed, should not be trusted. Is Christopher’s imagination getting the best of him or are these ghosts warning him of real dangers that lie ahead? The result is a touching and beautiful story about how we should embrace, rather than fear, the unknown."

Whisper House received its world premiere at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre in January 2010. The production utilizes music from Sheik’s 2009 studio album of the same name.

The Arts Emerson workshop, sponsored in part by Jonathan Reinis Productions, marks the debut of a new draft of the piece, reimagined with the new creative team of director Iskandar and designer Holthusen.