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REVIEW
Hippodrome Theatre Review: Night of the Living Dead
By Dick Kerekes, "Entertaining U: Jacksonville"
October 25, 2007
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 Tuesday-Friday at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 5 and 8:30
p.m. and Sundays 2 and 7:30 p.m.
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 Black). I told you
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, and assures
them that
Florida football
coach Urban Meyer has offered the use of the Gator
team to fight the zombies. After the fact, I
realized a major reason that the team was expected
to mount an effective defense - the zombies
obviously had no one who could pass.
The twelve young men
and women who play the zombies are as wonderful as
zombies can be, with wild hair, bloody bruises,
glassy eyes, and old and moldy clothing. At
various times during their bumbling and shuffling
walking, 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. The
set is absolutely the best I have seen this year
anywhere in
North Florida and
probably will not be matched by any theatre the rest
of this season. A frame farmhouse, complete with a
full basement is 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,
with no sex, earthy language, drugs or alcohol to
corrupt you. Be prepared to laugh long and hard.
If cigarettes can put
a warning on the outside of their packages, I guess
I can put a warning on the inside of this review.
When you call to reserve your seats, do not accept
seats in rows A, B, or C. At one point in the show,
the zombies go into the audience in these rows and
if you are bitten by a zombie, you become one. Don't
say I did not warn you.
I highly recommend you see this show. It is very
campy but still one 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. Yes, there
are actually people who believe in this
stuff. P.S.: The
Hippodrome zombies are really beautiful people off
stage, check out their
photo 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
www.thehipp.org.
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