Last Updated on October 6, 2022, 9:15 PM | Published: October 4, 2022
OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) — The spooky season is finally upon us and it’s time to start planning the celebrations in OKC.
Every October, even the squeamish spend some time exploring the darker sides of entertainment, getting into the spirit with some splatterfest B-movies, some macabre classic cinema, or even just by playing a bit of dress-up.
But no matter what form your preferred Halloween festivities take, it’s safe to assume that it’s better with a crowd.
Horror can be a great experience at home alone on the couch in the dark, getting spooked all by yourself, but there is something so undeniable and unforgettable about sharing those thrills, screams, cringes, and nervous laughs with an audience. There’s still nothing like it.
And if you get to sing along and throw stuff, well that’s just an added bonus.
Whether you like your horror bloody and insane, atmospheric and understated, or raucous and musical, OKC has you covered this month.
“Evil Dead 2” presented by Mondo Mondays – Tower Theatre – October 31st
By a remarkable stroke of luck (or maybe just how calendars work) Halloween this year falls on a Monday.
That might be bad for anyone hoping to party on the 31st, but it’s perfect for horror fans, because the irrepressible Mondo Mondays crew from Ponyboy can get in on the action with a special presentation on the proper Tower Theatre screen of one of the best horror films ever made.
In what is very probably film legend Sam Raimi’s masterpiece, future horror icon Ash (Bruce Campbell) survives an archetypical “cabin in the woods” slaughter, only to become the last defense against a demonic, possessive force. What follows is history’s greatest threading of the needle between horror and comedy complete with all the Dutch angles, chainsaw action, and blood-drenched gore you could ever want, as well as Campbell’s unparalleled rubber-faced, slapstick performance.
There can be no better or wilder horror offering to experience with an audience, and to be given that chance on Halloween night itself is almost too good to be true.
For more info, follow @mondomondaysokc on Instagram.
“Hadestown” – Civic Center Music Hall – October 25th through 30th
No amount of Tony Awards or period costumes or delicate folk songs can change the fact that this is the story of a young woman slowly manipulated and dragged into literal Hell.
It may not be bloody or traditionally horrific, but Hadestown is full of fear, doubt, supernatural forces conspiring for souls, a stalking, handsome devil making deals, and that most terrifying of all themes: poverty.
If you’re not yet familiar with the smash Broadway musical, it’s a stage adaptation of modern folk queen Anaïs Mitchell’s 2010 narrative concept album, bringing together a host of other folk icons to retell the classic tales of Orpheus, Eurydice, Persephone, and of course Hades himself. With the Greek tragedies repurposed into the struggling, devastated American South, themes of depression and desperation abound, with industrialized labor standing in for the infinite toil and suffering of the damned.
The songs are in turn infectious and heartbreaking, and the story’s earnest presentation is enough to easily warrant the show’s “Best Musical” wins.
If you want some perfect autumn entertainment without all the gore and grossness, this might just be for you.
For tickets and info, visit okcciviccenter.com.
“The Phantom of the Opera” w/ live organ accompaniment from Christian Pearson – Rodeo Cinema – October 16th
Few performances in cinema history have ever reached the level of iconography and legend that Lon Chaney achieved as the Phantom in 1925.
The set design, makeup, and just pure, unrivaled tone of this silent, menacing masterwork have kept generations returning for nearly 100 years, with no signs of stopping.
OKC’s own Rodeo Cinema has recently been revisiting and reinterpreting some of the greatest works of the Silent Era with live musical accompaniment, and will be presenting this stone-cold classic with a live, heavily improvised score by local musical master Christian Pearson on the theater’s own historic organ.
For loads of younger moviegoers, the unique pleasures and thrills of silent film are still foreign, and I can’t think of any better opportunity to experience them than seeing this film in an old theater with a live organ, exactly the way the Phantom himself demanded.
For tickets and info, visit rodeocinema.org.
“The Rocky Horror Show” – Lyric Theatre – October 5th through 30th
Look, I try not to openly editorialize very much here, but I’m going to just come out and say it:
“The Rocky Horror Show” is the greatest stage musical ever created.
There. That’s the truth as far as I’m concerned.
No other show has ever had the staying power, the cult fandom, or the endless, undying cultural relevance of “Rocky Horror.” No matter how many months or years something ran on the West End or Broadway or how many awards or dollars a play collected, nothing has ever matched the “absolute pleasure” and untouchable catharsis of Richard O’Brien’s timeless and time-warped opus.
No other show is produced hundreds of times over every single year in cities all over the world while the film adaptation continues playing – and even selling out – in cinemas everywhere.
The October run of “Rocky Horror” is a foregone conclusion at this point, as every year around Halloween, there is bound to be a new cast presenting the show on stage or any number of theaters screening the film and inviting audiences to dress up and participate.
This year, Lyric Theatre is presenting an ever-so-slightly re-imagined take on the classic, tweaking the show with a touch of Southern, cowboy aesthetic.
But make no mistake, all of the B sci-fi/horror, fan-favorite characters, and unforgettable songs are intact just like always. No matter how you change it, it’s always the same. That’s the whole point of the “Time Warp.”
There is nothing more Halloween than “Rocky Horror,” and frankly, there is nothing more horrific right now than the violent repression of sexuality and openness, making this story that is never not relevant, as relevant as ever.
For tickets and info, visit lyrictheatreokc.com.
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
