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'Night Of The Living Dead 1984' to be presented at Community

Posted 10/26/19

Smokestack Theatre at Community High School will present the original play "Night Of The Living Dead 1984," written and directed by the school's drama teacher, Anthony Davis, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1-2, at the school's auditorium. Admission is $5 at the door...

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'Night Of The Living Dead 1984' to be presented at Community

Posted

Smokestack Theatre at Community High School will present the original play "Night Of The Living Dead 1984," written and directed by the school's drama teacher, Anthony Davis, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1-2, at the school's auditorium. Admission is $5 at the door.

The 1968 horror movie "Night Of The Living Dead," directed by George Romero, wasn't the first to feature zombies -- and the term "zombie" is never used in the movie -- but it's generally considered the biggest inspiration for the zombie movie genre, which has included sequels, remakes, imitators and parodies through the years.

This is the first full-length original play the school has presented. Davis' script is inspired by the original movie but tells a somewhat different story and sets the action in 1984, hence the title. When a meteorite crashes near their high school, the kids of Eastland High begin to suspect that the strange behavior of locals may be connected. Then comes the realization that no one believes them, and that they may have to be the ones to stop whatever monstrous things are going on in their community.

Normally, one couldn't simply turn a film into a play script without hard-to-get permission from some movie studio or production company, but a mistake by the producers of the original 1968 movie resulted in it falling into the public domain. The producers changed the title of the movie at the last minute (from "Night Of The Flesh Eaters"), and when they replaced the title card in the movie they forgot to add the required copyright notice.

The fact that the movie isn't protected by copyright opens the door for it to be adapted as a stage production.

The cast includes Rafe Stanley, Tara Harrell, Blake Sabin, Corrine Wisdom, Aubrey O'Neal, Jewel Hewitt, Hunter Norman, Rose Tomlin, Joseph Cagle, Everardo Alcala and Ryan Waterson.

Also appearing are Abby Murrill, Brooke Harrell, Jade Andrews, Jada Williams, Brianna Hernandez, Tiara Smotherman, Zach Bowling, Lauren Bobo, Anthony Lynch, Carly Pellar, Ashleigh Bivvins, Alan Ornelas and Oliver Williams. Stage managers are Lauren Zimmerman and Joseph Cagle, and Bethany Cothran is assistant to the director.