It was Fright Night on Monday in the intimate LMC Theater. “Death and Silence” the highly anticipated student-written post-apocalyptic drama debuted May 1 and the audience members thought it was Halloween instead of spring and they were entering a haunted house with all the blood, scary makeup and costumes.  

Play-goers were directed into a dark theatre, receiving the usual instructions of no eating and no recording devices, then escorted individually to their seats by an usher with a gun who cautions them audience as they were seated, “zombies on the loose, be careful, we are here to protect you.”

Armed with handguns, machetes, rifles and flashlights, and the usher’s assurance, the wait began for the curtains to go up. 

The stage was blocked into sections and rafters created about 10 feet off the ground. A section of the floor was been transformed into a street with black top and a yellow striped line running across with the word “run.” Wild and crazy music of Eminem’s song “Desperation” tightened the suspenseful mood as the audience waited.

Excitement heightened as the play began with zombies high above the stage in rafters in various stages of decomposition and with blood and sores covering their crooked and deformed bodies.

They shuffled back and forth with a lifeless stare in their eyes. The lighting effects accentuated the bizarre atmosphere and captured the audience in a maze of sound effects and exploding babies.

The stage combat was clean and precise as Sonia, played by Jazmin Brehaaut the lead character demonstrated her bad-assed female powerhouse that packed a mean punch maiming and killing the zombies as she wielded her knife and positioned her firearms.

Edward, Sonia’s mild mannered counterpart, played by Greg Kubik-Boyd, made desperate attempts to penetrate Sonia’s shell of resistance and prove his worth.

The audience got a recap of the carnage and loss that befell Sonia and Edward allowing the audience into their worlds, getting a clear understanding of their plight and challenges.

Their chief antagonist, John, played by David Kluzek executes torture and brutalized, the neighborhood, adding Sonia as his latest victim.

Playwright Ariel Dunn is well written script and the vision she brought to fruition entertained the audience tonight.

The performers demonstrated their superb acting skills and the costume designer, Nicole McGraw who stepped up her game adding zombies and goonies to her repertoire of costume designs.

Under the direction of Nick Garcia “Death and Silence” the Drama department has raised the bar once again bringing the element of horror to the LMC stage.

If you haven’t seen it yet, your last opportunity to meet the LMC zombies is tonight and Saturday at 7 for the closing performance.