CREATING AN AUDIENCE FOR COMMUNITY THEATRE: A CASE STUDY OF NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD AT THE ROADHOUSE THEATRE Robert Connick A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS August 2007 Committee: Ron Shields, Advisor Steve Boone Eileen Cherry Chandler © 2007 Robert M. Connick All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Ronald Shields, Advisor The Roadhouse Theatre for Contemporary Art, located in Erie, Pennsylvania, combines theatre and film as their primary form of artistic development in the Erie community. Through hosting film festivals and adapting film scripts for the stage, the Roadhouse brings cinematic qualities into its theatrical productions in an effort to reach a specific market in Erie. This study focused on the Roadhouse’s production history and highlights one particular work that has developed from there into a production available for national publication and distribution: Lori Allen Ohm’s stage adaptation of Night of the Living Dead. The success of this play provided the Roadhouse with criteria to meet four aspects that Richard Somerset-Ward lists as necessary for successful community theatres. This study examined how Night of the Living Dead developed at the Roadhouse Theatre and the aspects of the script that have made it successful at other theatres across the country. By looking at themes found in the script, I presented an argument for the play’s scholarly relevance. By creating a script with national interest and relevance, Lori Allen Ohm and the Roadhouse Theatre created an historical legacy that established the theatre as one that reached its local audience while also providing something new and worthwhile to American theatre as a whole. George Romero and John Russo’s 1968 film Night of the Living Dead provided critics with a means of problematizing many aspects of American society. In 2000, Lori Allen Ohm created a stage adaptation of this film for the Roadhouse Theatre for Contemporary Art in Erie, Pennsylvania. Her script brought out many of these same iv critiques. For this study, I examined three themes that relate to current American fears: humanity vs. society, humanity vs. technology, and humanity vs. the “other.” I provided examples from previous scholarship on the film for these themes and specified selections from the play script which show these themes at work in the text. v To Jesi, April, and Taylor. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Without the support and help from my caring wife, Jessica, this project never would have developed. She pushed me to return to school, and I can never properly repay her for that. Having two children running through the house while working on my degree has also helped tremendously. They have kept me focused on getting my work done when it would have been easy to get distracted. My parents, Tom and Wendy Shearer, have also provided me with guidance and encouragement when needed. Jesi’s parents, Mike and Sandy Schmader, have been my most vocal supporters throughout this process. All of their support helped more than I can place into words here. Steven A. Balsomico recommended Bowling Green State University to me, and I am grateful for his advice. By being here when we moved here, he helped ease the transition process for our family and gave me someone to watch as he made it through the same process I would be following him through. Without his input and recommendation, I may not have considered moving this far to pursue my degree, and would have missed the great program and faculty here. Dr. Ron Shields gave me exactly the type of direction I needed with this project. He managed to motivate and challenge me better than I could have imagined. I learned a great deal about academic writing from him. I would also like to thank my committee members, Steve Boone and Dr. Eileen Cherry Chandler for their input, not only on this project, but on my overall progress as a theatre scholar / practitioner. Dr. Jonathan Chambers and Dr. Lesa Lockford have also helped foster my growth as a critical writer, and I hope they would see this thesis as a combination of the lessons learned from all of these professors. vii I also owe a large part of my sanity through this process to my fellow students, Jeff List, Diane Sullivan, Colin Rust, Stephen Harrick, and Christine Blaine. They always provided an understanding ear for my venting and let me know I was not alone in my stress levels. I wish them the best and am sure their work will be of the highest quality as well. Vanessa Grace Baker served not only as a calming influence, but also as a tremendous editor in the early stages of this text. Without her dedication and honesty, this project would not have gone as smoothly as it has. I would like to conclude by thanking Jim Dachik, Louise Small, Val Whipple, and Sara Whitehead-Turner for all they have done for me during my time here. The office staff made sure that crises were averted on an almost weekly basis, ranging from scheduling errors (mostly of my own doing) to family assistance paperwork. Without them, I would not have been able to maintain such strong focus on my work. Jim taught me as much in two years of working with him as I have learned from many people I’ve known for much longer. He pushes for consistency and accuracy, and these traits apply beyond the practical aspects of theatre. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER I. DAWN OF THE DEAD................................................................................. 11 CHAPTER II. NIGHTS OF THE LIVING DEAD .............................................................. 43 CHAPTER III. LIVING IN A NIGHTMARE WORLD...................................................... 76 CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................... 96 BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................................. 108 APPENDIX A. PRODUCTIONS AT THE ROADHOUSE BY AUTHOR........................ 114 APPENDIX B. PRODUCTIONS AT THE ROADHOUSE BY YEAR.............................. 119 APPENDIX C. PARTIAL CHRONOLOGY OF NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.......... 126 ix LIST OF FIGURES/TABLES Figure/Table Page 2-1 Photo of the Roadhouse Theatre at its 1505 State Street location ............................. 15 2-2 The Roadhouse Theatre space at 145 West 11th Street ............................................. 16 2-3 Publicity photo for Night Like a Cat.......................................................................... 18 2-4 Publicity photo for Danny and the Deep Blue Sea .................................................... 19 2-5 Publicity photo for Floatin’........................................................................................ 20 2-6 Publicity photo for A Streetcar Named Desire .......................................................... 22 2-7 Roadhouse Theatre floor plan.................................................................................... 24 2-8 Publicity photo for Coyote Ugly................................................................................ 27 2-9 Audition Notice for Night of the Living Dead ........................................................... 30 2-10 Photo of John Stockhausen, Jim Gandalfo, and Mark Tannenbaum in the 2002 production of Art..................................................................................... 33 2-11 Don Dombrowski as the first zombie ........................................................................ 34 2-12 The cast of the 2003 production of Reservoir Dogs .................................................. 35 2-13 Brian Hunt as Hank Williams in An Evening with Hank Williams .......................... 36 2-14 Publicity photo of 2006 production of Reservoir Dogs............................................. 38 2-15 Publicity photo from Class Is in Session ................................................................... 38 2-16 Publicity photo for Bat Boy: The Musical................................................................. 38 3-1 Program cover for 2000 production of Night of the Living Dead ............................. 48 3-2 2000 advertisement for Night of the Living Dead..................................................... 52 3-3 Cover of the “Showcase” section of the Erie Times-News ....................................... 54 3-4 Publicity photo featuring Ben (Doug Massey) and Barbara (Dani Vanderhoff)....... 55 x 3-5 Publicity photo of Ben (Massey) ............................................................................... 55 3-6 Publicity photo of Ben (Massey) and Tom (Eric LaPrice) battling the Motorcycle Zombie (Christian Tirak)..................................................... 56 3-7 Publicity photo of zombie newlyweds, played by Kathy Bussiere and Jason Fried.. 56 3-8 Publicity photo of Barbara (Vanderhoff) and Tom (LaPrice) ................................... 57 3-9 Publicity photo of Zombie #1 (Don Dombrowski), taken in the Evans City Cemetery, where the 1968 film was shot ................................................ 61 3-10 Advertisement for 2003 production of Night of the Living Dead ............................. 61 3-11 Publicity photo of Tom (LaPrice) and Judy (Erica Heilmann) from the 2003 production of Night of the Living Dead............................................. 63 3-12 Publicity photo from