Hedy Devine (Kira Riley) goes for a ride with the “perfect” fiancée, Dr. Dick Cuttingham (Andrew Simmons) in the musical spoof “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die — in 3-D!!!” which opens Friday at the Chetco Playhouse (photo by Bill Schlichting).
The Chetco Pelican Players musical comedy “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die — in 3-D!!!” is the same old story: girl meets boy, girl gets decapitated, boy keeps her head alive in a baking pan — nothing new here.
But this story proves that anything is possible, as a monstrous-looking master of ceremonies uses his artistic license to improve upon one of the worst movies ever made — a 1962 cult horror film — by adding music, dance and a 3-D finale of good vs. evil.
The story takes place in 1961 and nurse Hedy Devine thinks she has found the perfect fiancée in the handsome and brilliant Dr. Dick Cuttingham, until she becomes decapitated in a car accident and he keeps her head alive in his secret laboratory.
Trapped in a baking pan filled with the doctor’s new, untested, miracle drug, Adreno-Serum, Hedy watches helplessly as Dick schemes to find a female body to transplant onto her head.
The Adreno-Serum used to keep Hedy alive has unimagined side effects as she develops psychic powers. Vowing to find a way to stop Dick’s ghastly new experiment, she partners with the unseen monster in the closet and waits for her moment.
This production, directed by Mike Vest, opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, at the Chetco Playhouse, 1240 Chetco Ave., Brookings. Additional shows are at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, as well as the following two weekends.
Tickets for this show are $12 for adults and $6 for students. Tickets may be purchased in advance at Wright’s Custom Framing and Art Supplies in Brookings and New Wave Video in Harbor. Tickets are also available when the doors open 45 minutes before each show. Reservations can be made by calling 541-469-1877.
For more information, visit www.chetcopelicanplayers.org.