NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD by Carol Kaufman Segal

             

Night of the Living Dead, is an independent horror film that was written, directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero and co-written by John Russo in 1968.  Though it was greatly criticized for its gruesome scenes, it eventually earned the praise of critics and is now regarded as a cult classic. 

            Could anyone have imagined such a film being adapted for live stage productions?  But Writer Gus Krieger did just that, and you can see this very eerie production performed by the Group Rep at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood.

            The play opens with Barbara (Kate Faye) and her brother Johnny (Sean Faye) visiting the burial site of their father when they are suddenly attacked by zombies.  Fortunately, Barbara somehow gets away, but unfortunately, her brother does not.  Barbara manages to get to a farmhouse that appears to be abandoned.  She is joined by Ben (Marc Antonio Pritchett) who finds his way to the farmhouse when he runs out of gas. 

            The news is very bleak as it appears that these “living corpses” have overtaken the country.  There is no telling how many there are or how the situation can be solved.  They thrive on the flesh of the living, and those who die, are killed, or bitten by any zombie will come back to life as a zombie as well.  The only way to annihilate them is to destroy their brains.  Ben takes over and, with Barbara’s help, they do their best to block the windows and doors of the house.

            Barbara and Ben discover another problem when they find out there are five other people hiding in the basement of the farmhouse.   They are Harry (Matthew Jayson Cwern), Helen (Lisa McGee Mann), Karen (Kaia Mann) and a young couple, Judy (Cameron Kauffman) and Tom (Ashkhan Aref).  Ben insists that they are better off by coming up out of the basement, and when they decide he might be right, they adhere to his suggestion.  However, this causes more problems for Ben and Barbara when Harry wants to take charge of the situation.  While they try to make plans as to how to escape from the farmhouse, multitudes of walking corpses are everywhere outside, and escaping appears less and less a possibility.  Can they all survive their dreadful situation?  

            Other cast members who perform as broadcasters and interviewers and some as zombies include Ian Runge,  Greg Abbott, Van Boudreaux, Patrick Burke, Paul Cady, Fox Carney, Kyle DeCamp, Larry Eisenberg, Doug Engalla, Lareen Faye, JC Gafford, Doug Haverty, Taylor Martin, Adam Neubauer, Jake Scozzaro, Cardonna Atkins, Donathan Atkins, Stephanie Colet, Julie Davis, Hisato Masuyama, and Troy Whitaker.  Those who perform as zombies can certainly give one chills! 

            The production is directed by Drina Durazo, set design is by Winfield/Durazo, costume design by Angela M. Eads, makeup design by Julia Hapney, and fight choreographer is Marc Antonio Pritchett.  As you can see, it took a great many people to bring this spooky play to the Lonny Chapman Theatre.

            Night of the Living Dead plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, through Nov. 10, with special performances Wednesday, Oct.30 and Thursday, Oct. 31, at 8 PM, at the Lonny Chapman Theatre, 10900 Burbank Blvd., No. Hollywood.  Tickets are available online at www.thegrouprep.com, or by phone at (818) 763-5990.