Review: Strawdog Theatre’s “Pontypool”

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 Pontypool

Adapted by Tony Burgess
Directed by Anderson Lawfer

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Zombies have been undergoing a renaissance lately, much like vampires and werewolves have over the past 20 years or so. This past year there were two films that show the huge range of storylines now being told – the romantic comedy “Warm Bodies”, and the fast-zombie invasion “World War Z”.  To continue keeping the genre fresh, new ways of telling the same basic story need to be found.

Strawdog Theatre is presenting a different take on the zombie with “Pontypool”, a play adapted by Tony Burgess from his book Pontypool Changes Everything. Burgess originally adapted his book as a screenplay for the 2008 film “Pontypool”, directed by Bruce McDonald. I attended the January 11, 2014 performance with Terror Dave Fuentes.

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INTERVIEW – Scott T. Barsotti, Playwright, The Shadow Over Innsmouth

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On Dec. 13, 2013, I attended a performance of Wildclaw Theatre’s “H.P. Lovecraft’s The Shadow over Innsmouth”. This was my fourth outing to see a Wildclaw performance, and I was very impressed with the play (read my review here).

After the show, I was curious enough about the original story to immediately check a collection of Lovecraft’s stories out of the library. I was intrigued by the changes made to turn the basic story into a play.

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Review – Wildclaw Theatre Presents H.P. Lovecraft’s The Shadow Over Innsmouth

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  H.P. Lovecraft’s The Shadow Over Innsmouth

Presented by Wildclaw Theatre

Adapted by Scott T. Barsotti

Directed by Shade Murray

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Poster Art by Charlie Athanas

H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu and the Deep Ones have become mainstream in today’s culture. A great example is the mash up of Thomas Kinkade paintings with Cthulhu (check one out here).

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How Best to Describe “Deathscribe!”

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Not long after I became familiar with Chicago’s Wildclaw Theater, I’d been told that their annual December Deathscribe event was not to be missed! While horror isn’t something most folks gravitate towards this time of year (unless, of course, you count holiday shopping), leave it to this talented crew to toss conventional wisdom out the door and host one of the most unique, terror-filled evenings imaginable!

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Freakhouse Flicks Brings Horror to Center Stage!

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The creepy crew of Scarevania’s Freakhouse Flicks  made their live stage debut July 21st at  The White Rabbit Cabaret in Indianapolis, IN. As the patrons made their way to their seats they were greeted by a stage scene depicting the inside of a “10 in 1” sideshow tent. As the house lights went down, the evening was kicked off by carnival talker (and leader of the Freakhouse Flicks gang) Francis D. Pickles!

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