By Kellie Houx, Editor of KC Studio
Halloween and perhaps the entire month of October is a good time to play, to be crazy and to simply express oneself in a slightly offbeat way. Children, teens and many adults relish Halloween for its ostensible permission to explore darker topics, enjoy a good fright and eat lots of candy. Here are a few events going on in the metropolitan area that may represent some of those ghoulish times.
Screenwriter,
teacher and horror buff Mitch Brian brought the “Maul of the Dead” to the
Coterie At Night Series under the direction of Ron Megee. Brian again pairs
with Megee for “Sorority House of the Dead.” The theater group ran “Night of
the Living Dead” for two years before “Maul of the Dead.” The show runs Oct.
21-Oct. 31.
Brian says “This show came about after we did ‘Maul of the Dead’ -- which was a great experience for me (and also, I hope, for the audiences who came to see it). After sending up 1970s horror and disaster movies, we thought that driving a stake through the heart of 1980s pop culture horrors and the Reagan era would be fun. Jeff Church asked me to write it, Ron MeGee was on board to direct so I jumped at the chance to work with them again. Like MOD it will be an original world premiere smack in the middle of Kansas City’s Halloween season and will be presented at an amazing new performance space called The Living Room at 1818 McGee. Bring your crosses, garlic and big 80s hair – it’s gonna be fangtastic!”
The
horror franchise from Sam Raimi started with “Evil Dead” and continued in “Evil
Dead II” and “Army of Darkness.” Now the first and probably goriest is a
musical, taking the stage at Off Center Theatre in Crown Center. Egads Theatre Artistic
Director Steven Eubank believes “Evil Dead: The Musical” (Oct. 8-Nov. 6) should
be produced frequently like “The Rocky Horror Show” because of its cult appeal
(not only to rock musical lovers, but also to horror-movie-genre enthusiasts
and Evil Dead trilogy purists). After “Evil Dead” actor Bruce Campbell
saw a production of “Evil Dead: The Musical,” he dropped a couple expletives
and raved about the outrageousness and high energy. The musical has already
been produced several times regionally, including Springfield, Topeka and at
Union Station.
“We are eager to put our unique Egads! Theatre Company professional stamp on this show,” Eubank says. “Presenting this show in October is ideal! We think that people who enjoy haunted housing will find a similar thrill in attending ‘Evil Dead: The Musical.’ It’s a great experience for people who are in the mood for a party. I enjoyed seeing the show by myself several times in New York, but it would also be an excellent night-out activity for a group of friends. It’s also worth mentioning that those who want to be fully immersed in the ‘Evil Dead’ experience (and who order tickets early) may reserve limited ‘splatter zone’ seats. The show does contain explicit language, stage violence, and sexual references, so audience members are advised to use discretion …”
At the Alcott Arts Center in Kansas City, Kan., artists can find opportunities to create, find a space to exhibit or take a class to learn a new art form. “We nurture the artistic talent, whether it’s visual or performing. The Alcott Center used to be a school so it seems to be a good fit that learning still happens here and we are hoping that others will see us as a metropolitan-wide facility where people from all over can come see what we are doing and participate,” says co-founder Chris Green.
Halloween is one of Green’s favorite times of the year. To capture that, the center offers some ghoulish good times during the month of October. As part of Kansas City, Kan. Second Friday events, the center offers a Macabre Art Exhibit. Cliff Robinson, a steampunk artist from the area, will be part of the exhibit, she says. On Oct. 16, creativity takes on an eerie spin with “Zombie Prom II” where guests can dress as a zombie. Green says about 80 people attended last year’s inaugural event and she hopes for many more zombies this year. “We have a photographer taking prom pictures. There’s a costume contest and a king and queen are chosen.”
For a more community and family feel, the group also offers a Trunk or Treat on Halloween night. The Kansas City Horror Club works with the center as does many in the neighborhood, she says. “We bring out all the scary props and decorate the lawn. It gets creative and fun. Last year, we had 600 kids participate in the event.”
Frankenstein
is one of those iconic characters that turns up every Halloween and rightly so.
Author Mary Shelley was dared by Lord Byron to write a ghost story and the
character was born. The book took about a year to write and publishing came not
long after. Shelley was 19 years old. More than 50 films have been made, plus
several plays produced, about the story. To give the story a fresh and perhaps
humorous twist, director Paul Mesner and his puppeteers will take on the story
Oct. 13-31 at the studio. “Frankenstein lends itself to puppetry because most
theater companies can’t go dig up a body and then reassemble it on stage. Since
puppet bodies are made out of cloth, it is very easy to do,” Mesner says.
Six performances are rated PG-13. The Paul Mesner Puppets’ production of Frankenstein is a little scarier version of the story than the children’s show. “The scary factor will be joined with the gross factor and the body humor we won’t do for our younger audiences. We do some body humor for the younger kids, but it is age appropriate,” Mesner says. “An audience will like the show because in the kids show, we tell the story using humor and asking a few gentle questions. For the adult show, which Mary Shelley wrote during her later teen years, they should come see what is considered to be the first piece of science fiction ever written. Teenage girls will be interested in seeing what a teenage girl wrote in 1817.”
