Some people are simply born with theater in their blood. Gifted by some divine hand, these natural performers have the ability to transition in and out of themselves with ease, and they possess the power to captivate an audience as they strut across a stage.
For the rest, there's Halloween. Admittedly, the holiday is partially defined by eeriness, cheesy costumes and gluttony; for children, this means massive amounts of candy, and for college students, massive amounts of booze. Setting commercialization aside, however, it is also the closest any non-actor comes to experiencing firsthand the vivid intersection of fiction and reality that theater embodies. Parading through the streets on Halloween night, even the dullest of average Joes can channel his inner thespian during this surreal fete.
Though this annual habit of sporting a costume is, for most, rooted in the youthful quest for Hershey's bars (and, for the love of all that is holy, no raisins), the act of donning a disguise holds significance far beyond anything a cooing adult can plunk into a trick-or-treater's plastic pumpkin basket. Dressing in costume is the quickest way to transform a person into a personage. And the garment is almost immediately effective: Shortly after slipping into those clown pants or that never-appropriate Borat banana hammock, something changes in the wearer. Whether ridiculously, scarily or scandalously outfitted, the costumed Halloweenie has stepped out of his quotidian comfort zone and into the public eye. Like an actor, he or she is the conspicuous center of attention, ready to perform.
Another theatrical aspect of Halloween is its unlikely coupling of horror and lightheartedness, which unite in a way that calls to mind the comedy-tragedy masks that are so symbolic of the dramatic world. Although Halloween is by definition a celebration of the creepy and the paranormal, humor and fun make their presence known in the unlikeliest places. The holiday's focus on the uncanny is perpetuated through tales of ghouls and goblins, building storytelling into the melee of costumes and candy. And as any former summer camper can testify, a good ghost story should not only terrify but also titillate its listeners, ending in shrieks of delighted laughter accompanied by pure fear.
Considering the theatricality of the holiday, it's no wonder the Boston theater scene has this season embraced the Halloween spirit in all its spine-chilling glory. The formats of these haunting productions are widely varied — they span everything from traditional plays to interactive performances, whose incorporation of the audience champions Halloween's theatrical impact on the individual. The treatment of Halloween's multifaceted nature is equally comprehensive. Performances encompass expected elements of horror and the spectral world but also involve comedy and audience participation in a nod to the holiday's fun side.
So throw on a costume and hit up some shows in town this October to get in touch with your inner thespian. But again, please, no Borat swimsuits.
GhostBashers
For a night of good food, good comedy and bad '80s music, check out "GhostBashers," a joint production from Mystery Café and Haunted Dinner Theater. In this spoof of the famed 1984 comedy flick, "Ghost Busters," the basement of Elephant and Castle Restaurant and Pub is transformed into a bed-and-breakfast overrun by all manners of spirits, both ghastly and alcoholic. For $50, audience members are treated to a three-course meal and subjected to mild mockery in this laugh-out-loud whodunit.
Though "tame" is not a suitable adjective for the performance, "GhostBashers" does provide an evening of family fun.
"A lot of our shows tend to be more adult-themed, stuff that kids wouldn't necessarily relate to," Creative Director Shannon Stillings told the Daily. "And so we decided that for this Halloween season … we want to have kids coming to the Mystery Café. It's a real familial holiday."
Stillings also said that one of the goals of "GhostBashers" was to encourage audiences to "engage and interact … [because] it's kind of like everyone wants to be a performer on Halloween."
Happily, "GhostBashers" successfully involves its audience while acknowledging and nourishing that ubiquitous urge to perform. Audience members are encouraged to construct and solve the murder mystery that unfolds throughout the performance, and the actors alternate between presenting their own kooky antics and poking fun at hapless theatergoers. But never fear: The actors' jokes are never humiliating, and "GhostBashers" is all fun and games — although ladies who do not wish to become the object of fixation of smarmy twin brothers, Benton and Kenton Denton (both played by Christian Galpin), should consider wearing a mask and a very concealing costume to the performance.
Boston Ghost Cruise
Nothing captures the blending of the real and the otherworldly this Halloween better than the Boston Ghost Cruise. Theater groups Pastimes and Comedy Theater Productions, the latter of which produces the Mystery Café, come together for this nautical performance that costs $32 to experience. Producer David Goldstein, the founder of Comedy Theater Productions, teams up with writer David Stickney, the founder of Pastimes, to take ghost tours to the next level through interactive theater. As the ship glides through the Boston Harbor at night, a cast dressed as ghoulish 18th-century privateers guides audiences through sites of Boston's historical horrors.
Stillings said that the Ghost Cruises are "a little more adult-geared [than ‘GhostBashers']." One reason she cites for this shift in targeted audience is that the Ghost Cruises "are a little spookier. The ghost stories are based on true stories, which is kind of freaky, in all honesty."
The Ghost Cruise's website acknowledges this elevated fear factor — at the bottom of the page in bold font, it challenges potential cruise-goers, "Do you dare to experience these real tales of terror in the very places they happened?" Since Stillings described the Ghost Cruises as "really fun and spooky," this is a challenge that thrill-lovers will gladly meet.
GoreFest 8: Cirque du Slaughté
The comedy masters of ImprovBoston want you to attend "The Goriest Show on Earth" — but show up at your own risk, since the website promises the show is "completely inappropriate for people of all ages." ImprovBoston crafts an original, annual "GoreFest" musical comedy, and the show's sales have been wildly successful in the past.
"Cirque du Slaughté" is directed by Don Schuerman, who has played a guiding role in all seven preceding "GoreFest" performances. This year's "GoreFest" installment features a hopeful magician at a Depression-era circus, who watches the production collapse around him in a series of bloody accidents. The performance promises irreverence and, obviously, gore. If past performances are any indication, sanguinary corn syrup will likely squirt all throughout the theater during "GoreFest," so it's best to dress down for the show. Tickets are $19 with a student ID.
I Am Hamlet
This Halloween at the Boston Center for the Arts, a classic Shakespearian tale will assume new life in "I Am Hamlet," a fast-paced, one-man show replete with ghosts, daggers and a haunting soundtrack. This American "pop" vaudeville is directed by Joseph Siracusa and stars Brian Morey.
"It's really exciting to see young people genuinely having fun with Hamlet," Siracusa said in an e-mail to the Daily. And genuinely being able to afford it, with $10 student tickets.
The timing is certainly perfect to relish this particular play: "Hamlet" teems with supernaturalism and a meaty revenge plot, both of which suit the Halloween spirit impeccably. Also, the idea of assuming different identities is embodied to the extreme in this play, as Morey goes through a series of lightning-fast costume changes in his effort to depict a full cast of characters.
Sacred, Scary, Spectacular!
Music lovers need not look farther than Distler Hall to celebrate Halloween with the Tufts Wind Ensemble's (WE) Oct. 31 concert, "Sacred, Scary, Spectacular!"
"This concert is going to be sort of out of the ordinary, and the spectacle that might ensue is a bit unorthodox for a symphonic band performance, but that's just how we roll," WE President Danna Solomon, a senior and a contributing writer for the Daily, said.
The program of "Sacred, Scary, Spectacular!" includes a medley of pieces, including Richard Strauss' "Allerseelen" and Daniel Montoya's "Voodoo."
"We're [also] featuring the fourth movement of Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz, which recounts an artist's hallucinogenic vision of himself being escorted to his own beheading. Creepy, right?" Solomon said. Creepy, indeed. Of course, WE will be dressed for the occasion.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Last but not least is the Boston Conservatory Theater Ensemble's (BCTE) production of "Sweeney Todd," the classic opera featuring the titular murderous barber and his partner in crime, Nellie Lovett. This twisted tale of love and revenge is set in London during the Industrial Revolution and touches on the ways Londoners grappled with the repressive nature of the revolution.
"I think what makes ["Sweeney Todd"] really great for Halloween is that it … sounds like a macabre and horrible [story], but it's done with such a glint in the eye," Director Neil Donohoe told the Daily. "It combines the horror and the fun of Halloween."
Donohoe also criticized Tim Burton's 2007 film interpretation of "Sweeney Todd" for focusing too much on the grotesque aspects of the opera.
"They took out all the glorious choral music, and they also took out all the humor in it," he said.
Luckily for theatergoers, Donohoe promises that the BCTE will not make that same mistake. "We're definitely playing at the mad antics and humor of the piece, so it does combine the horror and the joy of something this macabre," he said. "[It's] chilling but thrilling."
Though several of these productions promise to hide a few tricks up their sleeves, theatergoers are definitely in for a treat this Halloween season.
