The monster awakens at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company for its regional premiere of a new adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein by David Catlin. Thrills and chills come alive alongside the titular monster in this co-production with Merrimack Repertory Theatre that reframes the classic story through the lens by which it was conceived. This new production promises a new take that pays homage to the story and its author, according to director Brian Isaac Phillips.
“(Our production) embraces the historic anecdote of how the story was originally created,” said Phillips, remarking on how Shelley came up with the idea during a campfire storytelling contest. “It’s very theatrical in the sense that you get Mary Shelley and company sitting and telling the story, and then the story comes alive.”
This adaptation frames the piece in the same context that Shelley originally conceived the idea for Frankenstein — while sharing ghost stories around a campfire. The show dives into her story of one inventor’s misguided pursuit of knowledge, which results in the titular monster’s awakening. Since its release, the story has cemented itself in pop culture, inspiring Halloween costumes and film and TV adaptations.
“What I’ve always loved of the story of Frankenstein is how much thematically has become weaved into other pop culture stories. There’s so many adaptions on the stage and in film,” Phillips said. “What I love about this (version) is that it takes that story and, through five actors, finds a way to tell it brand new; it’s a new way of looking at classic material.”
The show features a small cast, starring John Patrick Hayden, Jasimine Bouldin, Alexis Bronkovic, Jay Wade and Billy Chace. The actors are solely denoted as Actors 1 through 5, playing a range of characters both in-story and in real life. Through this framing device, the show’s script hopes to demonstrate the parallels between the monster and its author.
“It takes that sense of isolation that the monster feels and shows how that ties to the isolation Mary Shelley feels outside of society,” Phillips said. “That otherness is very much in the novel and in this production, and I think it’s something we’re very excited to bring to life.”
This production features a wide range of settings and time periods, which Phillips says lets the technical teams truly shine. From around a campfire to being stranded on a ship in the Arctic, audiences will be transported across time and terrain with some stunning visuals. He lovingly likens the technical work to a playground.
“It is a fantastic playground, and one they’ve created as part of the co-collaboration with Merrimack Repertory Theatre,” Phillips said. “The design team has done a wonderful job of creating something that is going to have so much spectacle and fun for us here, then fit it in a
truck and provide that same experience to a different city. This is going to see a huge audience not just in Cincinnati, but beyond.”
As a co-production with Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell, Massachusetts, this show is also unique in that it will run for several weeks, before packing up and transporting the production to the northeast 24 hours later. Once the show closes in Cincinnati on Nov. 2, the theater packs up the set in a truck and drives it to New England, where it’s staged for a three-week run. Nonetheless, this adaptation will see its regional premiere in Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s production.
The show continues the company’s 2024-25 season, featuring several Hamlet-adjacent titles. The company kicked off its season with the free tour of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, along with September’s modern twist on the story in Fat Ham, and a new work about the women of the play with A Room in the Castle in January. Amid the classics are several new works inspired by them, with the goal of revitalizing stories for a new era. Such is precisely what Catlin’s work has done, says Phillips.
“We’re always looking for new takes on classic stories, taking something that is a novel and looking at it through an adaptation that is fresh and exciting, and I think that’s what David Catlin’s done here,” he said. “It’s not a departure from Mary Shelley’s novel at all; I think it actually embraces that source material strongly, and that’s why the framing device is so powerful.”
For those looking for a true Halloween experience, Phillips assures you this production will deliver.
“There’s going to be jump scares; there will be blood…all the things you expect from a great horror film, you’re going to have that on stage,” Phillips said. “It’s a rollercoaster ride of thrills and chills, which is perfect for spooky season.”
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein runs Oct. 11 through Nov. 2 at the Otto M. Budig Theater. More info: cincyshakes.com.
This story is featured in CityBeat's Sept. 18 print edition.
