OPEN MIC NIGHT AT WESTMINSTER CEMETERY

A newcomer arrives at Westminster Cemetery and shakes things up amongst the Dead.

Of the 178 cemetery residents, only 10 arise regularly. One is 17-year-old Sam, who died wearing his Civil War uniform over 150 years ago. Ever the tortured artist, Sam longs to be a writer like Edgar Allan Poe—the cemetery’s most famous resident. When Lacy Brink, 16, arrives—the first “recently Deceased” person since 1913—Sam is immediately smitten. But Sam’s straight-laced mother, Mrs. Steele, wants to see vulgar (read: modern) Lacy Suppressed (read: confined to her grave for all eternity). As newly-assigned President of the Entertainment Committee, Lacy dares to host an open mic night among the rule-bound residents. Will she succeed, or will her antics get her Suppressed (and crush poor Sam’s heart)? “Originally written for the Deceased,” this play in two acts blends prose with stage directions for a hybrid structure. The resulting alchemy capitalizes on the strengths of both media to create a unique, fully-realized world. The secondary characters—some based on real people—read as caricatures against the more realistic and nuanced Lacy. But this duality also equates to good comedy. Given the stuck-in-time atmosphere, though, some residents’ dialogue seems mismatched (give or take a few choice phrases) to the antiquated necropolis. All characters are assumed white.

Quoth the Raven, “Encore.” (Paranormal script/prose hybrid. 13-adult)