SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – October 23, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) – As Mary Shelley herself says at the beginning of “Bride of Frankenstein:” “It’s a perfect night for mystery and horror. The air itself is filled with monsters.”
New theatre company Sackerson is presenting a recreation of the 1935 film “Bride of Frankenstein” starring Boris Karloff, but staged with live actors and dancers lip syncing to the original voices and musical score.
The show is directed by Christopher Clark, chairman of the UVU theater department and executive producer of Sundance Summer Theatre, alongside choreographer Jenny Barlow, a former Ballet West and Radio City Rockette dancer.
We spoke with Clark, as well as makeup artist Bekah Wilbur and Heather Murdock, who only appears in a few minutes of the show as Mary Shelley and the jaw-dropping Bride.
Clark said he has been trying to get this show to happen for the past five years. One of the aims of Sackerson is to present “bucket list” shows with local artists. “It’s just been difficult finding a venue or a production company willing to take a risk on it,” said Clark. “It’s not a mainstream idea, and it can be a tricky sell. But then I had lunch with the producers of Sackerson last spring. Two of them, Alex Ungerman and Daniel Whiting, are my former UVU students, and it felt like the right time to pitch the show to them. I knew they would take it and run with it. And they have. They are an amazing team. And I was so excited because I knew they would give this crazy idea 100 per cent energy, backing, and commitment.”
He said that staging a show where the audio is already pre-recorded provided an intriguing challenge. “It was definitely a tricky rehearsal process,” said Clark. “Because despite whatever performance choices the actors wanted to make, they were always wedded to the original audio. I wanted them to feel free to explore their physicality and I gave them license to do that, as long as their lips matched the lips from the film. So that was tough, but also really fun. I’m sure it drove the actors crazy. To me to the play is an homage to some pretty spectacular work that happened 80 years ago. I wanted to honor it.
He said he has enjoyed seeing how audiences embrace the show. “It’s been so exciting to see how people have embraced it. It does work, I think. And I think audiences are craving something that is both entertaining and artistic. That’s what this production is. My initial worry was that people would think that the show was either a gimmick, or just weird. But they haven’t. I love that people have found the artistic merit in it; that we’re trying to celebrate an 80 year old film with renovated design and performance. But I’m also thrilled that people love it just as a fun thing to do for Halloween. Honestly, it works on both levels. And that makes me really happy.”
She said her aim with the design was to create something terrifying, yet human. “I didn’t want to make another green monster and a bride with a white stripe in her hair,” she said. “I’m very happy with the outcome. The audience reaction is what breathes life into my art.”
Murdock, who doubles up as Shelley and the Bride, said it was an exciting assignment to play both roles. “There were many acting choices taken away, but having to portray a role so specifically was a fun challenge. I found myself with headphones in my ears, saying my lines out loud along with the 1935 audio tracks. In order to better sync I rehearsed in the same dialect as Elsa Lanchester, the original Mary Shelley and Bride.”
Murdock spends the majority of the show in makeup, getting ready to play the Bride.
“I’m only seen on stage for about five minutes, but I’m getting into costume and makeup for just a little longer than the show’s runtime,” she said. “Being only in the beginning and the end of the show feels like a roller coaster ride. While I’m putting my makeup on before the show and during the show is the anticipation while waiting in line at Space Mountain, and my short periods on stage is the actual ride.”
“The audience has been overwhelmed by the unveiling of The Bride, and who can blame them? The makeup design is fantastic, paired with the costuming, staging and sound track- the reveal can get your heart beating for sure. I’ve seen many camera flashes and people just recording or snapping photos on their phone. It’s a very quick moment in the overall length of the production, but it’s definitely satisfying to be a part of a moment that’s the last image cemented in their minds.”
The company allows audience members to take photos without a flash during the performance and post them using the hashtag #frankenbrideslc and #utahtheatre. However, they request you do NOT post pictures of the Bride, so as not to ruin the surprise for future audiences.
The show plays at a warehouse at 1030 South 300 West through October 31. Shows are each night through Halloween at 8 p.m. (except Sunday) with extra shows on October 30 and 31 at 11 p.m. Tickets are $12-$40 from the “Bride of Frankenstein” website.
Sackerson is an artistic partnership between Ungerman, Whiting and Dave Mortensen. The company premiered at the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival with a production of Morag Shepherd’s “Poppy’s in the Sand” and recently launched their dial-a-play experiment “Before the Beep.” More details about the company can be found here.
