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Zombies still hungry in ‘Night of the Living Dead’

Courtesy Photo In the Fort Smith Little Theatre production of "Night of the Living Dead," Barbara (played by Ashleigh Mathews) visits the cemetery with her brother Johnny (Tyler Basham) only to encounter a zombie (John Faulkner). For the play, some scenes were shot outside and will be shown via projection.
Courtesy Photo In the Fort Smith Little Theatre production of "Night of the Living Dead," Barbara (played by Ashleigh Mathews) visits the cemetery with her brother Johnny (Tyler Basham) only to encounter a zombie (John Faulkner). For the play, some scenes were shot outside and will be shown via projection.

One might say zombies have been part of her relationship with her husband since the beginning, says Rikkee Workman-Black.

"When we were dating we watched ['Night of the Living Dead,'] and since then, we've seen a number of zombie movies," she says. "It's a genre that we really enjoy, because it's an escape from reality. No one really fears that a zombie will come and grab you, but it still has enough realism to be creepy. So when we saw this script available, we were excited to see it come to life on stage."

FAQ

‘Night of the Living Dead’

WHEN — 2 p.m. Sept. 23; 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26-29

WHERE — Fort Smith Little Theatre, 401 N. Sixth St. in Fort Smith

COST — $12

INFO — 783-2966, ext. 2

Based on the 1968 George Romero cult classic, "Night of the Living Dead" opens this weekend at Fort Smith Little Theatre with the Blacks sharing the helm. It's Scott Black's first time directing at FSLT, and "though Scott and I have worked on many shows together, this is the first time we have directed together," Workman-Black says. The premise of the story is that a space probe returns to earth carrying deadly radiation that causes the dead to rise and attack the living. They decided, she says, to go for "creepy, not gory" and "to approach the show as seriously as we could."

The film, although considered a "B" movie when it was released, is now credited with creating the modern zombie audiences know from "28 Days Later," "Shaun of the Dead" and "The Walking Dead" and is considered culturally significant for its references to 1960s civil rights movement and its use of an African-American hero.

For the directors, the job has been more about marshalling a stage full of actors than making a cultural statement.

"There's different challenges with each show," says Workman-Black. "With 'NOTLD,' you have a whole ensemble of actors that are on stage at the same time there's serious dialogue going on. You definitely don't want to take away from those moments, but it's important to know that the characters have these zombies to deal with as well. It's been incredibly rewarding bringing all these people together for this show -- people that have a love of the horror genre. And so many new people, too! That's been wonderful."

NAN What's Up on 09/23/2018

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