Cher Álvarez Talks Fear & Fame (Between Bites) | Takeout and Talk
Actress Cher Álvarez doesn’t have much time. She’s only in San Francisco for a few more days as she and her castmates conclude their tour of the critically-acclaimed Paranormal Activity play. The production, which is inspired by the 2000s horror classic, has already made stops in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. Its current run ends this coming Sunday, March 22nd.
Learning that Álvarez leaves the Bay Area practically right after her last curtain call, I immediately start to list out some Mission District staples she has to visit before packing up. That neighborhood, in particular, is well-known for its Mexican influence and cuisine. And considering she and I are both of Mexican descent, it felt only right that I shared my top suggestions for the food of our people. They include places like El Mil Amores and La Taquería.
Yet, despite this love for la comida mexicana, we’ve each ordered American fare for our takeout. I opted for a “smoked salmon tartine” from Tartine Manufactory, while Álvarez went for an avocado toast with scrambled eggs from Bluestone Lane. She shares that the restaurant is conveniently located across the street from her temporary performer’s residence and admits that, because of her schedule, she’s relied heavily on delivery these last few weeks.
Her schedule is certainly not for the faint of heart - eight shows a week, with each show running about two hours. And, again, this isn’t a Stephen Sondheim musical we’re talking about here. There’s no razzle dazzle, jazz hands situation to help keep the mood light. The title, itself - Paranormal Activity - gives a sense of the production’s overall tone.
Álvarez stars as Lou, a wife who’s trying to find peace and comfort in a seemingly haunted home in London with her husband. Although the plot strays from the original film source, its bones are the same: a young couple finds out in truly disturbing ways that they’re not alone. Álvarez has worked on the show since its inception.
Now, I’m not exactly a horror hound, but I was curious to witness the show live, which I did a couple weeks before my conversation with Álvarez. In fact, I left the Toni Rembe Theater thinking I needed to reach out to her ASAP, having only learned of her and her work that Friday night. But if her performance is any indication of her future success and prospects, Álvarez is going to be everywhere very soon, and I wanted to get in on the ground floor.
In addition to Álvarez’s stellar work, the stage production is something to marvel at: a fully-furnished two-story home with enough hidden spaces to pique your curiosity and feed your fears of something creeping in the corner. As someone who enjoys seeing live theater, I was unsure of how the material would translate on stage. Álvarez says she had similar sentiments.
“I’ll never forget getting the script for the first time, and I was skeptical,” Álvarez says. “I was like, ‘How the hell are y’all going to pull this off?!’ But the thing is, I hadn’t read a script in a long time where I was having visceral reactions. I was reading it freaking out, like, ‘How is this going to happen?’”
Oh, but it happens and then some. There’s a moment in the play’s first act where the entire theater screams altogether in reaction to something we see on stage. I still have no idea how the crew made it possible (and I refrain from asking Álvarez to maintain the overall mystery). It’s one of many instances where the play delivers on terror.
“To be able to hear how everyone is feeding off of each other's fears, that has been mind-blowing to me,” Álvarez says. “You know, if there's one person out there and they giggle because they're nervous, everyone else will giggle. But it’s so great because like, it's the one thing that we all get to have in common, right? Fear. It's so palpable and the way that it affects us is fascinating.”
With this whirlwind theatrical journey coming to close, Álvarez says she’s excited to return to her homebase of L.A. and to find new hobbies and learn new things since she “loves being a student.” She’s also returning to a vertical short series called ‘Eavesdropping’ that she’ll be filming this summer. It’s all in keeping with Álvarez’s passion for storytelling, which she astutely refers to as a shamanistic ritual.
But her upcoming 2026 plans don’t negate the impact Paranormal Activity has had on her.
“It’s been one of the most life-changing moments of my life thus far.”