Annual Halloween Parody ‘kills’ once again

Courtesy Photo / Mary Quillin
Sarah Stark (pictured in green), a GVSU alumnus, founded her own theatre company which features current GVSU student Rachel Gleason (right) and Jamie Wooning (left).

Courtesy photo

Courtesy Photo / Mary Quillin Sarah Stark (pictured in green), a GVSU alumnus, founded her own theatre company which features current GVSU student Rachel Gleason (right) and Jamie Wooning (left).

Briana Doolan

Grand Valley State University’s former students invite current students and the community to view “Prom Night: The Musical” to celebrate the annual Halloween horror musical parody by the Stark Turn Players.

GVSU alum Sarah Stark founded the Stark Turn Players, a new professional non-profit theater group in Grand Rapids, with fellow former students Joel L. Schindlbeck, Heather Hartnett Folkvord and Mary Beth Quillin.

The group is presenting its annual Halloween horror musical parody. “Prom Night: The Musical,” which will be performed Wednesday through Oct. 31 at the Dog Story Theater, located at 7 Jefferson SE in Grand Rapids, Mich. Performances start at 8 p.m., with special midnight showings on Oct. 28 and 29.

On Oct. 31, there will be a costume contest and party at 8 p.m. before the show.

The musical features songs written by Joel Schindlbeck. The performance is based on William Grey’s 1980 horror classic, “Friday the 13th.”

“I was a student of GVSU theater in the early 2000’s,” Schindlbeck said. “After college, I traveled to Seattle and worked in a couple fringe theaters where the majority of my work was composing musical numbers to stage adaptations of movies from the 80’s, performed live by drag queens and burlesque performers. When I returned to Michigan, I wanted to bring that style with me and my favorite holiday is Halloween, so I created the annual Halloween musical parody based on the movie ‘Friday the 13th.’”

The show focuses on the aftermath of a deadly game of tag that leaves one girl dead. Six years after the girl’s death, her killers begin dying one by one as they prepare for the prom.

“This year, we’re amping up our show with a little more blood, more music numbers and tons of trashy, campy performances,” Schindlbeck said.

The performance contains adult language, drug use, mild sexual behavior and scenes of mayhem, so the group suggest parental guidance.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for students and seniors, with a half-off night on Wednesday.

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