It’s the most wonderful time of the year when everything is pumpkin-flavored and an array of cinematic terrors like Aunt Gladys show up on your doorstep asking for candy. Whether you can’t get enough of ghosts, goblins and jump scares, or if Glinda the witch is more your speed, Greater Cincinnati theaters have a treat for you, and it’s thankfully not candy corn.
Vampires might not be visible in mirrors, but this Halloween they’re showing up on several stages. The Count himself visits Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s production of Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors (Oct. 3-Nov. 1), where the vampire classic swaps scary for campy as a female Van Helsing and company launch a humorous pursuit of Dracula. Up the road in Dayton, Bram Stoker’s story is also the basis for Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really at The Human Race Theatre Company (Oct. 29-Nov. 9), a play that keeps some of the scares, adds some humor and challenges assumptions about monsters and predators.
Know Theatre’s octKNOWber Nights (Oct. 2-30) showcases several Cincinnati artists and producers performing seasonal staged readings, stand-up comedy, improv and music featuring ghosts and, of course, vampires. If you prefer emo and sparkly vampires, Twilight in Concert (Oct. 28), presented by the Cincinnati Arts Association, is screening the 2008 film accompanied by a live band. It’s hard to believe Team Edward and Team Jacob have been feuding for nearly 20 years now. Speaking of blood, the Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative’s New Voices Series features Frightfest (Oct. 28) when eight 10-minute plays tell tales of murder, hitchhikers, alarming noises, evil forces and more — all benefiting the Care Center Animal Blood Bank.
Clowns top the list of things that shouldn’t be scary but are, and Oompa Loompas are a close second. For those who prefer their scary clowns to be more graceful and less Stephen King, Exhale Dance Tribe performs Frown Upside Down (Oct. 25), a “Halloween-clown themed spectacle” at the Arnoff Center. Thankfully, there are no Willy Wonka activities scheduled this Halloween.
When you get tired of listening to “Thriller,” “Monster Mash” and “Flying Purple People Eater,” try out one of the “scary” musicals, rated G or PG, on Cincinnati stages. The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati opens its new home at the Emery Theater with The Wizard of Oz (Oct. 10-26). It has witches AND flying monkeys, so it’s definitely a Halloween musical. Monsters from ancient Greece rock and roll in The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (Oct. 23-25) at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. The Minotaur, Furies and Medusa may not roll off the tongue like “lions and tigers and bears,” but they deserve a big OH MY. A witch-filled Disney’s Hocus Pocus in Concert (Nov. 1-2), although not technically a musical, features Cincinnati Pops Orchestra playing the score live to this family favorite film.
The Carnegie’s production of The Rocky Horror Show (Oct. 24-Nov. 2) was such a hit last year that they are literally doing the time warp again. Join Brad, Janet and Dr. Frank-N-Furter in this not-for-children celebration of campy science fiction and horror. The movie version turns 50 this year and will likely return to area screens for Halloween.
For an extended Day of the Dead celebration, head down the road to Actors Theatre of Louisville for Dead as a Dodo (Oct. 30-Nov. 9). The Obie Award-winning Wakka Wakka company’s production brings together puppetry and music to share the underworld adventures of a dodo and boy, both skeletons.
Theatergoers with non-traditional fears have their own options to celebrate the scary season. Sufferers of philophobia (fear of falling in love) may shudder through CCM’s production of Pride and Prejudice (Oct. 2-4) while the rest of the audience enjoys a charming Regency Era meet-cute romance. Other options for the philophobic, and also the melophobic (fear of music), include Hello, Dolly! (Oct. 4-Nov. 2) and The Notebook (Oct. 14-26). The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Oct. 16 -19) at Xavier University will scare the pants off the melophobic and logophobics (fear of words).
If you’re suffering from neophobia (fear of new things), get your scare on with Transmigration: A Festival of Student-Created New Works (Oct. 28-30) featuring original 30-minute shows created by CCM students.
Theatergoers with glossophobia (fear of public speaking) may find Falcon Theatre’s Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons (Nov. 7-22) a relief, but the specter of censorship may prove terrifying to others in the audience. The witch hunts of The Crucible (Nov. 14-22) at Xavier University were a metaphor for the McCarthy era but have a scary relevance today.
For everyone already over Halloween since the decorations have been out since August, check out a charming play set at Thanksgiving, The Heart Sellers (Oct 25-Nov. 23) at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.
With so many great options, theatergoers are sure to find a treat that will be the full-size Snickers in your candy bag — no homemade popcorn balls in this bunch! And you don’t even have to dress up.
Get more information on the Halloween shows and tickets by visiting each theater’s website.
This story is featured in CityBeat’s Oct. 1 print edition.
This article appears in Oct. 1-14.