Monday, August 18, 2008

Bringing the "Living Dead" to Life

Readers, it can be a very interesting and enlightening experience having one's finger ever upon the proverbial pulse of the horror world. Every now and then, you'll come across a particularly fascinating item. For instance, did you know that right now, in Louisville, Kentucky, an intrepid little production company called Stage One is attempting to launch a stage adaptation of Night of the Living Dead?

It's true. Thanks to playwright Lori Allen Ohm and directors Andrew D. Harris and Steven Rahe, George Romero's watershed classic will literally be brought to life the week of Halloween at Louisville's Iroquois Amphitheater. In fact, right now, Stage One is running a makeshift "Zombie University" for the purpose of preparing hosts of drama students to be undead extras in the production.

"The participants will go through characterization workshops so they know who they were when they were alive, and that will be reflected in their costume and makeup," said Stage One's makeup and costume designer Julianne Johnson to the Louisville Courier-Journal.

First Shakespeare's Land of the Dead, and now this. How long before we get Zombi 2: The Musical?