by dick kerekes dickkerekes@yahoo.com
Gainesville’s Hippodrome Theatre opened its second production of the season with a version of the l968 cult horror film classic Night of the Living Dead. Adapted by playwright Lori Allen Ohm, it was further adapted by Hippodrome Artistic Director Lauren Caldwell and is set in the Gainesville/Alachua County area with the emphasis on humor as much as horror. The play will run through November 11 with performances every Tuesday-Friday at 8 pm, Saturdays at 5 and 8:30 pm and Sundays at 2 and 7:30 pm.
The simple plot concerns eight average people who barricade themselves inside a farmhouse while an army of cannibalistic zombies rise from their graves to roam the countryside and terrorize the population.
Two of the leading characters, a local sheriff (Sara Morsey) and television news anchor (Nell Page), use the actual names of the real Alachua County Sheriff (Sadie Darnell) and Channel 20’s newscaster (Paige Beck). Much of this is very funny (so funny I often had tears in my eyes).
The sheriff instructs the people what to do and where to go, assuring them that Florida football coach Urban Meyer has offered the use of the Gator team to fight the zombies. I later realized a major reason that the team was expected to mount an effective defense – they obviously had no one who could pass.
The twelve young men and women who play the zombies were as wonderful as zombies could be, with wild hair, bloody bruises, glassy eyes and moldy old clothing. At various times during their bumbling and shuffling walk, the zombies stop to dance to rock music. Picture a combination of the moves of Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Elvis Presley and Richard Simmons and you get the idea.
Because I want you to sleep tonight without nightmares, a secret force I will not reveal here defeats the zombies, so see the show.
This script will never win a Tony award, but Carlos Francisco Asse’s set could. It is absolutely the best I have seen this year anywhere in North Florida and it will probably not be matched by any theatre the rest of this season. Featuring a frame farmhouse complete with a full basement and tucked into a grassy knoll, you will be truly amazed that Mr. Asse was able to get this structure on such a small stage with such realistic detail.
Lighting Designer Robert P. Robins and Technical Director Michael A. Eaddy have added award-winning and fantastic lighting and special effects to keep you at the edge of your seat.
If a few people being shot, stabbed or blown up in a gas explosion doesn’t bother you, then you will find this rather tame. It has no sex, no earthy language and no drugs or alcohol to corrupt you. Just long, hard laughter.
Here’s a warning. When you call to reserve your seats, do not accept seats in rows A, B, or C unless you want to be part of the show. At one point, the zombies go into the audience in these rows and if you are bitten by a zombie, YOU BECOME ONE. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
I highly recommend you see this show. It is very campy but still one of the most thrilling and chilling of the season, and seeing the set is worth the price of admission. I would recommend you bone up on your knowledge of zombie culture in advance! The Hippodrome zombies are really beautiful people off stage, check out their photos in the program when you go.
October is the month many adults dress up as their fantasies for Halloween and theatres present off-beat, unusual plays like Night of the Living Dead, so relax and enjoy, you have eleven months to be normal and to see more conventional plays.
For reservations and information, call (352) 375-4477 or visit thehipp.org.
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