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Arts & Entertainment

The Unreview: Stephen King's 'Dead of Night' in NoHo

Dead_of_Night.jpg
Dead of Night: Stephen King stories on stage in NoHo. Cast from the short story, 'The Ten O'Clock People.'

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This post was going to be a review of The Visceral Company's Dead of Night, six short plays based on stories by horror master Stephen King. We attended opening night on Friday and, sadly, weren't thrilled with the results on stage. Things were amiss—and we were trying to figure out how to be honest with our readers, and yet, provide constructive criticism for the company.

However, after the performance, we received a note from the company's managing producer apologizing for the "technical nightmare" on Friday night. He explained that a computer crash resulted in the loss of sound for the production; the company had to rebuild three weeks of work in 24 hours, throwing the cast and crew off on opening night. He invited LAist back to come in again and see the production as it was really intended. This is the first time we've received a note like this, which leads us to this "nonreview."

Unfortunately, we're probably not going make it back to see the real Dead of Night, for a full critique, so we'll leave it at this: If you're a diehard fan of Stephen King's short stories like Nona, Strawberry Spring, Mute, Harvey's Dream, The Man Who Loved Flowers and The Ten O’Clock People, then head down to NoHo. Let us know if the horror master's stories on stage work for you or if they get lost in translation.

Dead of Night runs through Nov. 6 at the Lankershim Arts Center. Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 pm and Sunday matinees at 3 pm. Tickets: $25.

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