Halloween is coming and it will be unlike any in our lifetimes. No trick or treating. No costume parties, except perhaps drive-bys. The scariest part of Halloween this year is a tossup between the impending election and a rampaging virus. But the arts will find a way! Here’s a wide-ranging selection of spooky and fun theatrical activities for the next 10 days.
Corpses & Chupacabras at Skylight Theatre
It’s live, it’s brand new, it has original music, it’s coming soon and it’s free! Happy early Halloween! Tylre Synclair wrote and directed Skylight Theatre’s Corpses & Chupacabras. As Halloween approaches, a group of friends get together for a virtual role-playing game night, but as things take a deadly turn, they find out the stakes are higher than just a game.
Corpses & Chupacabras plays live on Thursday, October 22 at 3:00pm. Free with reservations at OvationTix. Running-time is approximately 15 minutes, followed by a Q&A.
Halloween Delivered!
If you’re craving a Halloween-themed knock at your door, order an evening of, believe it or not, disco, puppets and vampires. Special event organizer Of the Night has partnered with the legendary Bob Baker Marionette Theater on a limited-edition party package. It features Vampire Vineyards wine, Two Pitchers beer, bedazzled fangs, fake blood, decadent nibbles, decor to transform your living room into The Count’s lair, a blood red disco ball, makeup, spiderwebs and other great swag.
Add-ons include a doorstep puppet show by members of the Bob Baker Marionette Theater (limited to 10), a 5-course meal from LQ Foodings, and a kid-centric offering of Halloween goodies: a pumpkin and carving kit, a candy scavenger hunt, puppet-making materials and a Goosebumps book.
Only 50 deliveries are available for either October 23 or 30.
Each party package is $150 and is designed for two partiers. Proceeds directly benefit Bob Baker Marionette Theater, whose theater has remained dark during the pandemic. You can order Dracula’s Disco Of The Night here. The basic package is $150 and those add-ons are $100 each. (100% of proceeds from the doorstep puppet show go to Bob Baker Marionette Theater.)
Halloween Is NOT Cancelled, Featuring Elvira
Freestyle Love Supreme conceiver and co-creator Anthony Veneziale hosts a one-night-only online Halloween variety show benefitting the Actors Fund, Halloween Is NOT Cancelled. The evening will include costumes, make up and spooky treats, as well as appearances by Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, American Idol’s Diana DeGarmo and Ace Young, Tony Award-winning costume designer Linda Cho and make-up artist and educator Eddie Duyos.
Leading up to the streaming event on October 28, all are invited to enter a Halloween is NOT Cancelled Instagram costume contest with two divisions: 18+ and pets. To enter, post a picture of yourself or your pet in costume using the hashtags #NotCancelledCostumeContest or #NotCancelledCostumeContestPet, and tag @TheActorsFund. On October 19, the top five posts in each category will be shared on the Britesiders website, where fans can vote for their favorites by making a donation to The Actors Fund. The top three costumes in each category who receive the most votes will then be featured on the Halloween streaming event and win a prize. Instagram voting ends October 19 and Britesiders voting ends October 27.
Halloween Is Not Cancelled will stream via the Britesiders platform on Wednesday, October 28 at 5:00pm. For updates, click here. To donate, click here.
Groundlings: Cookin’ with GAS Halloween Online Edition
Looking for something fun to do this Halloween from the comfort of your home? Grab your favorite beverage and trick-or-treat candy and check out The Groundlings Theatre’s Halloween themed show, Cookin’ With GAS: Online Edition is a short-form improv show based entirely on audience suggestions.
The show will take place on Zoom Thursday, October 29 at 7:00-8:00 pm. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased here.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Disney’s classic animated film is interpreted by some of Broadway’s most ghoulishly talented artists in a Halloween night benefit concert in support of the Lymphoma Research Foundation and the Actors Fund. James Monroe Iglehart, who dazzled audiences as the Genie in his Tony Award-winning performance in Disney Theatricals’s Aladdin, and his Broadway friends, using only items and clothing found around their house combined with their imaginations, will bring this delightful evening of music, storytelling and Halloween fun to life for one night only.
The Nightmare Before Christmas streams on Vimeo Saturday, October 31 at 4:00pm. For details and to purchase tickets ($4.99), click here.
Towne St. Theatre Presents a Virtual Halloween Bash
Come to an online party featuring Halloween storytelling, costume contests, door prizes, raffles, and more spooktacular surprises. You’ll also have a front row seat to the world premiere of Bullet Points, a Zoom play written and directed by Starina Johnson that’s sure to send a chill down the spine. After the death of her cheating ex, Yavonne’s fresh start takes an unexpected turn when her new apartment begins to yield unearthly hidden secrets…
The party starts Saturday, October 31st at 7:30 pm (doors open at 7:00pm). Tickets are available on a “contribute-what-you-can” basis and here.
Virtual Dia de Los Muertos from 24th Street Theatre
24th Street Theatre’s annual Dia de los Muertos block party is moving online.
Actor Gabriel Romerohosts, with special guests including Edward James Olmos, master conguero, bandleader and vocalist Louie Cruz Beltranand his ensemble; Aztec dance troupe Huitzilopochtli; and ballet folklórico Sol de Fuego.
The event will also feature Las Instrucciones, a short film about a man who builds an altar to connect, celebrate and remember. And there are Day of the Dead workshops on altar-building and face-painting.
View the trailer with Edward James Olmos here. And tune in Monday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m at www.24thStreet.org.
Have a happy and arts-filled Halloween!
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