Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD Musical

New Line Theatre, "the bad boy of musical theatre, " opens its 23rd season of adult, alternative musical theatre with the regional premiere of the new musical thriller NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, running now through November 2, 2013. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The New Line season opens in October with this taut musical thriller, based on the iconic 1968 George Romero film that reinvented the zombie movie for our contemporary culture. From the dynamic, up-and-coming team of writer-lyricist Stephen Gregory Smith and composer-lyricist Matt Conner (Nevermore, Partial Eclipse, The Hollow) comes this powerful psychological thriller, re-imagining Romero's iconic walpurgisnacht for a new century, zeroing in on the relationships among seven doomed strangers, who just may be the living dead themselves. Could it be that these seven are trapped in this house for eternity, reliving the last night of their lives over and over, as a deadly force from the outside threatens to find its way in? In this post-9/11 world, the metaphor is clear: Who are "they" and can we ever really be safe?

Kim Paffenroth writes in his book Gospel of the Living Dead, "Reviewers began to recognize that the film did not just shock and disgust, but that it disturbed and perplexed viewers, and demanded more of them at some deeper, more thoughtful, and more introspective level." That deeper level is where this show lives.

The cast includes Zachary Allen Farmer (Ben), Marcy Wiegert (Barbra), Mike Dowdy (Harry), Sarah Porter (Helen), Joseph McAnulty (Tom), Mary Beth Black (Judy), and Phoebe Desilets (Karen), directed by Scott Miller, with scenic and lighting design by Rob Lippert, costume design by Marcy Wiegert and Sarah Porter, and sound design by Kerrie Mondy.

The show was workshopped in New York and has had only one production so far, at a small theatre in Maryland. New Line is very proud to present the regional premiere and the first professional production of this thrilling new work from these talented new writers.

Night of the Living Dead runs Oct. 10-Nov. 2, 2013, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, at 8:00 p.m., at the Washington University South Campus Theatre (formerly CBC High School), 6501 Clayton Road, just east of Big Bend. Oct. 10 is a preview. Tickets are on sale now through the Fox Theatre Box Office, or by calling 314-534-1111. This show contains adult content and adult language. For other information, visit New Line Theatre's full-service website at www.newlinetheatre.com. All programs are subject to change.

Photo Credit: Jill Ritter Lindberg

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