Actors turn to Ripley's
By Tim Ryan
for spooky midnight tales
Star-BulletinA man is shot by a corpse! A dying man comes back to life as a bull elk! An actor rises from the grave! Believe it or not!
Kennedy Theatre's Late Night Theatre at the University of Hawaii begins a two-weekend run of a different kind of Halloween story with "Ripley's Ghost Stories: Believe It or Not."
Call it a touch of macabre with a big dose of melodrama.
"Ghost Stories" is a collection of nine vignettes taken from the original and quite old "Ripley's Believe It or Not" tales about dead people coming back to life and lots of other questionable phenomena. Instead of being a frightening experience, "Ghost Stories" is totally campy."It's all comic with nothing scary," said director Hannah K. Schauer-Galli. "We use water guns to shoot people on stage and the guy who wants to be reincarnated as a bull elk shows up dressed like an elk, including huge antlers, so it's obvious it's an actor."
Just in case you didn't know, melodrama originally was spoken text with musical background as in Greek drama.
Popular in the 18th century, it was varied to include drama interspersed with music. The term now applies to all plays with overdrawn characterizations, smashing climaxes and sentimental appeal.
"We looked at several melodrama videos like 'The Great Train Robbery' and have copied the acting style for these stores," said Schauer-Galli.
Actor Kit Palmer plays the host with no name. He introduces each of the stories and even tells the whole plot line before the audience sees the action.The stage is lit only with footlights, giving the actors a stark, mysterious appearance. Host Palmer is lit by light from two film projectors so the audience hears the sound of the projector and sees flickering light.
Schauer-Galli remembers watching Ripley's shows as a kid.
"I relate to Ripley, who was constantly challenged when telling his travel adventures," she said. "My pledge to Ripley is, 'I believe.' "
When she came across "Ghost Stories" in an old Ripley's comic book, a play was born.
Don't look for lessons or high art in "Ghost Stories," Schauer-Galli said.
"Just sit back and have fun."
Robert Ripley was a world traveler who visited places few people had even heard of, including the Temple of Heaven in China and a town in Norway called Hell. He visited 198 countries and traveled a distance equal to 18 complete trips around the world. Ripley created his first collection of odd facts and feats in 1918 while working for the Boston Globe. He died in 1949.
The Kennedy Theatre's Late Night Theatre produces new and non-conventional works, giving UH students opportunities for experimentation in directing, acting, playwriting and theater management.
Ghost Stories:
Believe It or NotOn stage: 11 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday, Halloween and Nov. 6-7
