Paris’ Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol (1898-1962) was renowned for presenting evenings of short plays filled with suspense and terror using intricate special effects and realistic violence. People actually fainted or became sick from the graphic horror effects such as the chopping off of limbs. The Grand Guignol influenced film directors like Alfred Hitchcock and early Universal Studios horror films such as Frankenstein and Dracula.
In homage, Off the Wall Theatre presents Grand Guignol, an evening that includes three original Guignol plays adapted by Off the Wall’s Artistic Director Dale Gutzman and an original mini-musical written by Gutzman and composer Joey Kasiroubas. The four directors are Lawrence J. Lukasavage, James Feeley, Jeremy C. Welter and Gutzman.
“This kind of theater goes all the way back to the ancient Greeks,” says Gutzman. “Shakespeare used this horrific kind of theater in Titus Andronicus, in which a woman is raped and has her hands chopped off and her tongue cut out. I figure, what’s good enough for Shakespeare is good enough for Off the Wall.”
The pieces are Clowning Around, a typical Grand Guignol play with a horrific twist in the plot; The Final Torture, a historical drama about the Boxer Rebellion in China and a French fort under siege; The Kiss, the most famous of all Guignol stories about revenge that was in some ways the basis for The Phantom of the Opera; and the mini-musical Pagliacci, a terrifying take of the famous opera about art versus reality and insane jealousy.
“Our regular Off the Wall actors get a chance to stretch their limbs a bit in these shows by playing a variety of different roles in one evening,” says Gutzman. “These plays are all done in good fun, but that being said, there are some moments we hope will shock and frighten the audience. What is most disturbing [about producing these shows] is frankly wondering if people will get it. We want people to have fun and laugh, but we are not doing a parody. We are treating these plays with respect and serious concern. Grand Guignol promises to be a thrilling theatergoing adventure for the audiences. We hope they take the challenge and join us!”
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Grand Guignol runs at Off the Wall (127 E. Wells St.) Oct. 29-Nov. 8. For tickets, call 414-484-8874 or visit offthewalltheatre.com.
Theatre Happenings:
* The Independent Eye presents a two-actor, 20-puppet staging of Shakespeare’s King Lear at UW-Milwaukee’s Fine Arts Building on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m. Conrad Bishop plays Lear and Elizabeth Fuller plays the Fool, an acid clown representing Lear’s withered soul. Admission is free. For more information, call 707-824-4307 or visit independenteye.org.
* Murdered to Death, by Peter Gordon, takes place at a 1930s party where the host gets murdered and the inept Inspector Pratt must try to unmask the culprit before everyone else meets their doom. Show runs Oct. 30-Nov. 8. For tickets to this Memories Dinner Theater (1077 Lake Drive, Port Washington) show, call 262-284-6850 or visit memoriesballroom.com.
* Jack Neary’s The Turn of the Screw, based on the Henry James novella, is one of the most influential ghost stories of all time. Waukesha Civic Theatre (264 W. Main St., Waukesha) presents this suspense-thriller Oct. 30-Nov. 15. For tickets, call 262-547-0708 or visit waukeshacivictheatre.org.
* Cabaret Milwaukee invites you to relax and dip back to 1942 for a mock radio show in full period dramatization. The Jealous Revolver: Episode 2 in a noir trip through a speakeasy underworld of dames, bullets and vengeance. Show runs at The Brumder Mansion (3046 Wisconsin Ave.) Oct. 29-Nov. 8. For tickets, visit cabaretmke.com or e-mail cabaretmke@gmail.com.
* American Players Theatre presents Pierre Carlet de Marivaux’s The Game of Love and Chance, a hilarious period comedy about two damsels in disguise and whether class lines can be crossed in the name of love. Show runs Oct. 30-Nov. 22 at the Touchstone Theatre, 5950 Golf Course Road, Spring Green. For tickets, call 608-588-2361 or visit americanplayers.org.
* Angry Young Men Ltd. takes over the Oriental Theatre (2230 N. Farwell Ave.) Thursday, Oct. 29 to present Night of the Living Dead: The Puppet Show. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. show. Tickets are available at the Oriental Theatre box office or by calling 414-276-5140. For more information, visit facebook.com/AngryYoungMenltd or email angryyoungmenltd@hotmail.com.
* UW-Waukesha’s fall production is Qui Nguyen’s She Kills Monsters, a comedic romp into the world of fantasy role-playing games. Show runs Oct. 22-25 at the Fine Arts Center’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, 1500 N. University Drive, Waukesha. Tickets will be sold at the door starting an hour before each performance. For more information, call 262-521-5212 or visit waukesha.uwc.edu/campus/arts/theatre.
