Drez Ryan and Carrie Kimbrell Kimzey (Photo by Rodney Smith, Tempus Fugit Design)
Night of The Living Dead–Redux at Magnetic 375
Different Strokes! Performing Arts Collective (DSPAC) presents Night of The Living Dead–Redux at Magnetic 375, Thursdays through Saturdays, November 3–19, at 7:30 p.m. For DSPAC’s final production of its sixth season, writer and director Rodney Smith based his play on the iconic, independent horror film Night of the Living Dead by George Romero and John Russo.
Under Smith’s stage direction, the production features Drez Ryan, Carrie Kimbrell Kimzey, DiAnna Ritola, Eamon Martin, Darren Marshall, Scott Cameron and Paul Gallaher fighting for their lives.
Set in the rural Southeast in 1968, the recent, unburied dead are coming back to life and leave the graveyard in search of humans to devour. A disparate group of people find themselves trapped in a farmhouse miles from help and surrounded by the undead.
“Our version is far from campy,” Smith says. “We are truly approaching the material as an intense and dark dramatic thriller.” Smith’s adaptation dives deeper into the characters and the human condition than the cult film did.
“DSPAC has always prided ourselves on putting forth socially relevant and thought-provoking theater,” Smith says. “This play is no different. Each of the characters—including the undead—represents a unique facet of society. How these facets act, interact and generate resolve with each other is really what moves this narrative along.”
“People should expect the unexpected. There is much more to this story than blood and zombies,” lead actress, Kimbrell Kimzey, says. “It takes a deeper look into human nature in humanity’s most desperate moment.”
Magnetic 375 is at 375 Depot Street in the River Arts District. Tickets are $18 in advance and $21 for general admission at the door. Audience Talk Back sessions follow Friday and Saturday performances. Purchase online tickets by November 7 and pay no fees. For more information visit differentstrokespac.org.
