Long Beach Playhouse’s stage adaptation of, “Night of the Living Dead,” comes to a close after nearly a month long run

Long Beach Playhouse’s stage adaptation of George A. Romero’s zombie horror film, “Night of the Living Dead,” is coming to a close after a nearly month-long run that began on Sept. 19.

The production has been in the works since late July, and the zombie filled experience is coming to an end with closing night taking place on Oct. 17.

With the end of the production, audience members have been buzzing with feedback and personal opinions about the show. 

When discussing what stood out during the show, LBCC alumna Kayla Kinney said the multiple points of views helped with understanding what was happening.

“The feeling of getting two points of views at the same time while being on the stage at the same time…I was able to understand what was going on without having any prior knowledge of what the set was going to be,” Kinney said.

The playhouse has a thrust stage, a platform that extends into the audience, allowing the audience to sit in five different seating sections, which creates an extensive play space for the actors.

Director John Faust used the main stage to his advantage, implementing the use of audience walkways during scenes, offering an intense sense of immersion and terror as zombies walked through the audience covered in stage makeup. 

^{Audience members gather in the lobby of the Long Beach Playhouse before the evening’s production of “Night of the Living Dead” on Oct. 16. The production was the first of two final productions at the playhouse over the weekend. (Olin Archuleta)}

Abraham Figueroa, an LBCC theater student, believes that the use of audience walkways puts him right in the middle of the action, while also giving actors multiple ways to enter and exit the stage.

“Especially in scenes where there’s a lot of action going on, those walkways really help you feel like ‘oh my gosh they’re everywhere.’ It gives the actors more to play with instead of just having one entrance and one exit,” Figueroa said.

The production gave audience member Isaiah Kinney an incentive to watch more plays, as his experience was elevated by watching the actors perform and feeling immersed in the horrors of the subject material.

“I was really shocked at how different it feels from watching a movie, to seeing actors actually in person…seeing everyone involved and enthusiastic really stood out to me, causing me to kinda get scared,”  Kinney said.

Through its creative staging, immersive walkways and dedicated stage direction the Long Beach Playhouse offered audiences a theatrical experience that brought the horror of George A. Romero’s classic film to life.