By Madison Rohn, Lead Editor
Photography by Michelle Magnussen
The undead will roam the Hett stage this weekend! McKendree Theatre is performing Night of the Living Dead Live! as their fall play, which will debut this Friday the 25th at 7:30 pm. The play follows six strangers as they try to survive the night in an abandoned farmhouse surrounded by hordes of flesh-eating zombies.
The play is a comedic adaptation of the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead. The film, directed by George Romero, was one of the first zombie movies and was met with controversy at the time of its release for its realistic horror images, bleak ending and for having a Black protagonist. But since then, the film has become a horror classic and has greatly influenced the zombie genre.
The play adaptation acknowledges the film’s impact while also taking a comedic turn by putting the six main characters in a series of different scenarios to see if their horrible fates would change. What if they hid in the cellar instead of staying upstairs? What if someone sacrificed themself for the group? What if they acted like the zombies? These alternatives and more are explored, with each one’s outcome being more ridiculous than the last.
McKendree’s production of Night of the Living Dead Live! is performed by a cast of students who are directed by Michelle Magnussen. The cast has spent the last seven weeks rehearsing and getting to know their characters.
Sophomore Myles McGee plays the role of Ben, who represents the protagonist from the original movie. Myles described his character as “a man who’s been given a lot of problems in one moment and is doing his best to solve as many problems as he can when he knows that is not possible. He’s just doing his best to make at least one thing right out of the massive amount of wrongs that are happening in this moment.”
Myles said he is most excited for the audience to see “anything that drifts away from the original movie.” He said, “I’m happy that we get to pay homage to the original movie, … but also after we go off the rails and do something original and throw people off from what they may already know from seeing the original movie is what I think is the most exciting.”
This weekend’s shows would not have been possible if not for the hours of hard work put in by the students who make up the crew. Night of the Living Dead Live! is especially complex, with lots of light and sound cues, video elements, and what stage manager Mia Wylie calls “random gory props” that are all needed to make the show come alive.
During an interview with McK Radio, Mia mentioned that discussions over practical elements of the show have led to some interesting conversations during meetings with director Michelle Magnussen and technical director Doug Magnussen. One discussion they had often was about blood: “I do think the main challenges with this show are practical. So like trying to make things come alive without being too bloody or campy, and trying to pay homage to the movie without copying the movie. And one particular element we’ve kind of struggled with behind the scenes is to use blood, how much to use the blood, and to not use it.”
Unlike the film, McKendree Theatre does not have the chance to do retakes if something goes wrong. Mia said that is one of her favorite things about theatre: “We don’t have the movie magic of cutting and cleaning up and playing it again. This is all live. … That’s one of my favorite parts of it. You have to do everything practically, so you have to do it right there in front of you.”
The set is another element of the show that involved a lot of work. Technical director Doug Magnussen designed the old farmhouse set and even extended the stage with two wooden platforms with the help of his Hett student workers. Building the set involved a lot of work within a time crunch of just one week. As Mia explained, “A lot of people don’t realize that the set as an audience sees it is really only alive for about a week, and then it gets broken down again.”
Mia described the play as “a super interesting window into what the origins of the zombie and horror-y genres were and how they’re kind of different now.” When asked why students should see the show, she said, “It’s great to support other students. And on top of that, I think it has something for everyone. So if you’re kind of older and you appreciate the movie and saw that, it’s a great retelling of that. If you’ve never seen the movie, it’s great for you because you witness a story you haven’t seen before. And it’s got comedy … I think it has elements that everyone can appreciate.”
Night of the Living Dead Live! will be at the Hettenhausen Center for the Arts on Friday the 25th at 7:30 pm, Saturday the 26th at 7:30 pm and Sunday the 27th at 2:30 pm. Tickets are free for students, faculty and staff, and they are $5 for the general public. You can get tickets at the Hett box office or by visiting McKendree University | Ticketing – McKendree Theatre: Night of the Living Dead ™ Live.
