Canvassing The Hood
The deets on Dlectricity, Evil Dead: The Musical and Death and the Maiden
Published: October 3, 2012
The combination of a horror movie and a musical may seem odd, but the humor is what ties the show together and brings fans of both horror and musicals together. The dialogue is packed with clever one-liners ("the trees are alive with the sound of evil") and cheesy puns that everyone can enjoy. As Warrow puts it, "It's funny if you haven't seen the movies, it's hysterical if you have." For a not-so-scary (but still adult) Halloween activity, find tickets at olympiaentertainment.com. —Emily Riopelle
Death and the Maiden
What: Playwright Ariel Dorfman's riveting dramatic answer to the crimes of the Pinochet regime, exploring what happens to people after being subject to the brutality of totalitarianism
When: Performances at 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, at 3 p.m. Sundays, until Oct. 14
Where: The Matrix Theatre Company, 2730 Bagley St., Detroit; 313-967-0999; matrixtheatre.org
How much: $20 for adults, $15 for students and seniors, $12 for members of groups of 10 or more (call in advance)
What a hook! Set in a Latin American country in the wake of Chile's totalitarian Pinochet regime, a lawyer named Gerardo is returning from a visit to the capital to the small beach house he shares with his wife. When his car gets a flat tire, he's helped by a doctor named Roberto, who gives Gerardo a ride home to his wife. But there's something about this doctor that reminds Gerardo's wife, Paulina, of the brutal torturer whose face she never saw, the man who raped her when she was a political prisoner. What ensues is a trial, of sorts, in which the doctor must answer for the crimes of the former regime, and in which we're never sure if he is, in fact, guilty at all. The play, written by Ariel Dorfman in 1990, in the immediate aftermath of the Pinochet government, is a hard-hitting piece that, in the hands of skilled actors, can pack quite a punch.
The all-local cast is directed by Kate Peckham, with Karon Kron giving a compelling performance as Paulina. And this staging makes powerful use of Matrix's small space, as no audience member is more than six feet away from the actors at any point. Shaun Nethercott says, "It's an extremely powerful, very convincing journey through good an evil, and to be so close to a raw and powerful performances is amazing."
What's more, it fits right in with the small southwest Detroit theater's mission to use the "transformative power of theatre to change lives, build community and foster social justice." —Michael Jackman
> Email Emily Riopelle
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