Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
"Re-Animator The Musical" Is Bloody Hilarious
Graham Skipper in "Re-Animator The Musical" - Photo by Thomas Hargis.
()
Graham Skipper in "Re-Animator The Musical" - Photo by Thomas Hargis.
Just because a film can be turned into a stage musical, it doesn't mean that it should be. Most 1980s horror films wouldn’t translate all that well to melodies and dance numbers, but cult classic Re-Animator was a gore-fest with a strong sense of humor, and that makes all the difference. The new production of Re-Animator The Musical at the Steve Allen Theater is really a comedy in horror drag, and it's a terrific treat--a show chock full of witty songs, performed by a cast that is clearly having a great time.
Dan (Chris L. McKenna), a medical student at Miskatonic University, wants to move in with his fiancée, Meg (Rachel Avery), but he knows that her college-official father, Dean Halsey (George Wendt), would not approve. Dan advertises for a housemate to share the costs of his rent, and ends up with fellow student Herbert West (Graham Skipper), an odd fellow awfully concerned about his privacy and the amenities of the basement. Herbert, as it happens, has invented a reagent that can bring the newly deceased back to life, albeit as violent zombies. His professor, Dr. Hill (Jesse Merlin), intends to steal this discovery and present it as his own, but Herbert sees this attempt as nothing a little decapitation can't cure. His mistake.
It’s an imposing task to tackle the role Jeffrey Combs made iconic in the film, but Skipper captures Herbert’s combination of unhealthy ego and bloody determination with admirable verve. He gets most of the best lines in the show and delivers them with expert comic timing, and manages to make fighting with a rogue intestine prop work. Merlin gives a bravura performance as the sleazy Dr. Hill, creepily hitting on Meg in multiple inappropriate ways, and giving the play a bracing dose of aural bombast via his operatic voice. Avery is intelligent and appealing as Meg, who sees disaster approaching but can't stop it. McKenna finds an interesting dark ambivalence in the otherwise bland Dan, and Wendt’s duet with Merlin, after Halsey has been somewhat impaired, is an instant classic.
Support for LAist comes from
Stuart Gordon, who directed the original movie, stages the action in such a manner as to keep the anarchic energy of the film alive. He knows this is high silliness, and his cast runs with it joyfully. Mark Nutter’s lyrics are outstanding, a brilliant mixture of sophistication and dark humor that recalls Sweeney Todd. (“I’ll give the orders, you’ll be dispatched. I can use someone whose head is still attached.”) Laura Fine Hawkes’ set, a building doorway with myriad replaceable doors, is simple but effective. The special effects team (Tony Doublin, John Naulin, John Buechler, Tom Devlin and Greg McDougall), some of whom worked on the original film, bring a lot to the party with their gruesome zombie prosthetics and a decapitated man costume that you’ll never forget.
Re-Animator The Musical
@Steve Allen Theater
Runs Fri.-Sun. 8 pm through March 27
Tickets $25; 1-800-595-4849 or Online
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars. -
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
Best of LAist