Mt. Lebanon native directs Prime Stage Theatre adaptation of ‘Frankenstein’
Laura Sloveko/Prime Stage Theatre
Everett Lowe plays the Creature in the Prime Stage Theatre production of āFrankenstein.ā
Courtesy of Prime Stage Theatre
Liam Macik, a Mt. Lebanon native, directs the Prime Stage Theatre production of āFrankenstein.ā
Frankenstein ā or, more specifically, Frankensteinās monster ā is one of the most recognizable characters in all of popular culture.
His story has been told in the classic series of movies made by Universal Pictures in the 1930s, been retold dozens of times by a variety of filmmakers, and has turned up in such fare as āAbbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein,ā āI Was a Teenage Frankensteinā and āRock ānā Roll Frankenstein.ā
The monster and his creator, Victor Frankenstein, sprang from Mary Shelleyās 1818 novel, āFrankenstein,ā and it remains a mainstay of high school and college literature classes, thanks to how it grapples with questions about ethics, ambition, nature and fate. Pittsburghās Prime Stage Theatre is taking the story back to Shelleyās novel for a new adaptation of āāFrankensteinā that opened this weekend at the New Hazlett Theater on the North Side and will be continuing through Sunday, Nov. 13.
Directed by Liam Macik, a Mt. Lebanon native, it is āstrikingly similar to the novel,ā he explained.
āThere are going to be some pretty big departures for people coming in and expecting to (something like) the old Universal 1930s monster movies,ā Macik added. āāFrankensteinā has become so ubiquitous in our modern culture that when you go back and look at the original source material, itās surprising to see how different it is in a lot of ways.ā
Handling the adaptation of this āFrankensteinā is Lawrence C. Connolly, the Pittsburgh science fiction and mystery writer whose credits include the books āVeins,ā āVipersā and āVortex.ā Connolly said, āāFrankensteinā is as much the story of a writer who met with unexpected success as it is a scientist who experiences tragic failure. What sets the two apart is that Mary Shelley stood by her creation while Victor disowned his. The upshot: Itās good to dream big, but we must be willing to own the results of those dreams once they take on lives of their own.ā
Macik said, āI think itās very relevant in a lot of ways, especially in an age of rapidly expanding technology, and sometimes people lack willingness to take responsibility for it. These themes are very prevalent in the book and very ahead of their time.ā
Macikās previous credits at Prime Stage Theatre include a fresh adaptation of āThe Scarlet Letterā that he wrote and directed, as well as a production of āArsenic and Old Lace.ā
A 2000 graduate of Mt. Lebanon High School, a husband and father of three children, Macik attended Catawba College in North Carolina and, in 2010, he helped form Pittsburghās Throughline Theatre Company, where he directed productions of āJudgment at Nuremberg,ā āOedipus Rexā and āThe Last Days of Judas Iscariot.ā Macik is also a movie buff and works for the scooter company Spin.
Macik says Pittsburgh is a good town for live drama, though itās not if you want to make a full-time living at it.
āThereās so much theater going on in Pittsburgh, and so many opportunities along the way, that even if it isnāt the way you support yourself, thereās always something for you to be involved in,ā he said.
āFrankensteinā opens Prime Stage Theatreās season, and it continues Jan. 20 with āHarriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad.ā āThe Lion, Witch and the Wardrobeā will open March 3. āPerseverance,ā a world premiere production about Squirrel Hill jeweler Melvin Goldman and his experiences at Auschwitz in the Holocaust, begins April 15. The classic British novel āThe 39 Stepsā will be brought to the stage starting Friday, May 5. The season wraps up with āThe Boxcar Children,ā a childrenās production based on a novel by Gertrude Chandler, on Friday, June 16.
āFrankensteinā was set to open Saturday. Showtimes are 2:30 p.m. Sunday; 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11; 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12; and Sunday, Nov. 13 at 2:30 p.m. A sensory inclusive performance is Saturday, Nov. 12, at 2:30 p.m. An audio described and ASL signed performance is Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2:30 p.m. āFrankensteinā is suitable for ages 13 to adult.
Additional information on āFrankensteinā and the rest of the Prime Stage Theatre season is available at primestage.com.