Unbound Productions Co-Artistic Directors Jonathan Josephson, Paul Millet, and Jeff G. Rack have announced the line-up and casting for two full productions of the popular horror story adaptation series WICKED LIT that will take place at Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery in Altadena, California. Production A (October 21-November 5, 2011) will consist of a remount of three plays that the theatre company produced as part of last year's engagement: Charles Dickens' The Chimes, H.P. Lovecraft's The Unnamable and Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado.
Production B (October 27-November 6, 2011) will include three WICKED LIT plays that have never been staged at Mountain View: Robert Louis Stevenson's The Body Snatcher, M.R. James' Casting the Runes, and Mark Twain's A Ghost Story. Josephson, Rack, and Millet have written and will direct all six adaptations.
"This fall is going to be unbelievable," says Rack. AddedMillet,"Many couples and families that have attended our shows over the years have told us that Wicked Lit has become their new annual Halloween tradition."
In 2009, the WICKED LIT production (comprised of Robert E. Howard's Pigeons from Hell, Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, and Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) ran for 5 performances at Greystone Mansion; last year's incarnation of WICKED LIT received 10 performances at Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery; and earlier in 2011, a special WICKED LIT engagement of A Ghost Story was mounted at the Los Angeles Millennium Biltmore Hotel at the same time as the Theatre Communications Group National Conference. All performances of all productions have sold out.
Added Josephson "From the feedback that we have received from surveys and talking directly to past attendees, patrons who saw last year's show are almost as excited to see that same show again as they are to see the new production."
Cast for Production A: The Unnamable: John T. Cogan, Melissa Lugo, Michael Prichard, and Tanya Mironowski. The Cask of Amontillado: Bianca Gisselle, Brian David Pope, Pamela Hill, and William Joseph Hill. The Chimes: Brandon Massey, Eric Harris, Ilona Kulinska, Katie Pelensky, LizAnne Keigley, Richard Large, and Teena Pugliese.
Cast for production B: A Ghost Story: Edward Rowley, Marcy K. Hiratzka, Raymond Barcelo, and Skip Pipo. The Body Snatcher: Eric Keitel, Ericka Winterrowd, J. Anthony McCarthy, Paton Ashbrook, and Yancey Dunham. Casting the Runes: Bruce Schroffel, Daniel Flapper, Michael Perl, and Todd Andrew Ball.
The design team for WICKED LIT (Production A and Production B) includes Adam Flemming (Projection Designer), Bill Froggatt (Sound Designer), Christine Cover Ferro (Costume Designer), Ellen Monocroussos (Lighting Designer), Jeff G. Rack (Production Design), and Julie Pound (Make-Up Designer).
WICKED LIT audiences will experience three short plays as they are led through the grounds of the mausoleum and cemetery by a Storyguide. Separate tickets will give patrons access to either Production A (The Chimes, The Unnamable and The Cask of Amontillado) or Production B (The Body Snatcher, Casting the Runes, and A Ghost Story).
This is a walking show - patrons must be able to comfortably walk a minimum of 1,000 paces and climb stairs in order to experience these productions.
The mission of Unbound Productions, the theatre company that produces WICKED LIT as well as the newly launched History Lit is to create new theatrical adaptations of classic literature and produce them in non-traditional venues.
Visit wickedlit.org for complete pricing and scheduling details. WICKED LIT is also on Facebook.
THE PLAYS
Production A:
Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado
Adapted by Paul Millet, Directed by Jonathan Josephson
Journey to the catacombs for a stirring retelling of Poe's classic tale of madness, unrequited love, and deception.
H. P. Lovecraft's The Unnamable
Adapted and Directed by Jeff G. Rack
Two men - one a dealer in ancient artifacts, the other a follower of the occult - enter a graveyard on an ominous evening. If all goes according to plan, only one will return home.
Charles Dickens' The Chimes
Adapted by Jonathan Josephson, Directed by Paul Millet
In the spirit of A Christmas Carol (but with the bite of a horror story), The Chimes is a haunting tale of renewal, goblins, and the ties that bind.
Production B:
Robert Louis Stevenson's The Body Snatcher
Adapted and Directed by Paul Millet
In Nineteenth Century Scotland, Mary Fettes plans to become the first female medical student at the University of Edinburgh - but horrors await that will change her forever.
M.R. James' Casting the Runes
Adapted and Directed by Jeff G. Rack
A publisher rejects a manuscript from a proclaimed practitioner of the occult, unleashing a supernatural fury that threatens to take his life -- unless he can reverse the spell.
Mark Twain's A Ghost Story
Adapted and Directed by Jonathan Josephson
A college student finds himself with two flat tires and nowhere to go but an old, creaky, abandoned hotel. Hilarity ensues.
PERFORMANCES AND TICKETS:
Production A:
October 21-November 5, 2011, 12 performances only
Dark October 24-26 and November 1
All performances will begin promptly at 8:00 p.m.
