Zombies stalk the BGSU stage in ‘Night of the Living Dead’

The dead rise up in the iconic 1968 film “Night of the Living Dead.” They rise again onstage at BGSU Oct. 23-26 in a BGSU theater production.

Theater and film department faculty member Sara Lipinski Chambers directs the play; graduate student Quincy Thomas is assistant director.

Widely regarded as the beginning of the modern zombie genre, the film and now the play focus on the testing of personal relationships, according to Thomas. “For some people, those monsters were nothing but a catalyst,” revealing the way relationships and families are affected when stress is introduced.

“Some people become a hero, they step up; other people become fearful, they turn on what they perceive as the other,” Chambers said.

“Some people become protecting,” Mangan says. “We have all those characters: the caretakers, the fighters, the leader and his sidekick who is the questioner, asking ‘Are you sure that’s right?’ I think [‘Night of the Living Dead’] has a layer of fun, but you can also come to this and have multiple layers of thought.”

The creative team includes film faculty and students, who have filmed TV news scenes around campus that “harken back to the black and white,” according to Mangan.

The reenactment retains the gore of the film, making it even bigger and “not so delicate,” according to faculty member Kelly Mangan, who oversees scenic art, prop design and construction. “You might see entire spleens as opposed to just small pieces falling off.”

The show is not suitable for young children.

The zombies will strike at 8 p.m. Oct. 23, 24 and 25, with additional performances at 2 p.m. Oct. 25 and 26, in the Thomas B. and Kathleen M. Donnell Theatre at the Wolfe Center for the Arts.

All seats are $15. To purchase tickets, visit The Arts or call the box office at 419-372-8171.