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 鈥淔rankenstein.鈥�
Courtesy of Prime Stage Theatre
Liam Macik, a Mt. Lebanon native, directs the Prime Stage Theatre production of 鈥淔rankenstein.鈥�
Frankenstein 鈥� or, more specifically, Frankenstein鈥檚 monster 鈥� 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 鈥淎bbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein,鈥� 鈥淚 Was a Teenage Frankenstein鈥� and 鈥淩ock 鈥榥鈥� Roll Frankenstein.鈥�
The monster and his creator, Victor Frankenstein, sprang from Mary Shelley鈥檚 1818 novel, 鈥淔rankenstein,鈥� 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. Pittsburgh鈥檚 Prime Stage Theatre is taking the story back to Shelley鈥檚 novel for a new adaptation of 鈥樷�滷rankenstein鈥� 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 鈥渟trikingly similar to the novel,鈥� he explained.
鈥淭here are going to be some pretty big departures for people coming in and expecting to (something like) the old Universal 1930s monster movies,鈥� Macik added. 鈥溾�楩rankenstein鈥� has become so ubiquitous in our modern culture that when you go back and look at the original source material, it鈥檚 surprising to see how different it is in a lot of ways.鈥�
Handling the adaptation of this 鈥淔rankenstein鈥� is Lawrence C. Connolly, the Pittsburgh science fiction and mystery writer whose credits include the books 鈥淰eins,鈥� 鈥淰ipers鈥� and 鈥淰ortex.鈥� Connolly said, 鈥溾�楩rankenstein鈥� 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: It鈥檚 good to dream big, but we must be willing to own the results of those dreams once they take on lives of their own.鈥�
Macik said, 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 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.鈥�
Macik鈥檚 previous credits at Prime Stage Theatre include a fresh adaptation of 鈥淭he Scarlet Letter鈥� that he wrote and directed, as well as a production of 鈥淎rsenic and Old Lace.鈥�
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 Pittsburgh鈥檚 Throughline Theatre Company, where he directed productions of 鈥淛udgment at Nuremberg,鈥� 鈥淥edipus Rex鈥� and 鈥淭he Last Days of Judas Iscariot.鈥� Macik is also a movie buff and works for the scooter company Spin.
Macik says Pittsburgh is a good town for live drama, though it鈥檚 not if you want to make a full-time living at it.
鈥淭here鈥檚 so much theater going on in Pittsburgh, and so many opportunities along the way, that even if it isn鈥檛 the way you support yourself, there鈥檚 always something for you to be involved in,鈥� he said.
鈥淔rankenstein鈥� opens Prime Stage Theatre鈥檚 season, and it continues Jan. 20 with 鈥淗arriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad.鈥� 鈥淭he Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe鈥� will open March 3. 鈥淧erseverance,鈥� 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 鈥淭he 39 Steps鈥� will be brought to the stage starting Friday, May 5. The season wraps up with 鈥淭he Boxcar Children,鈥� a children鈥檚 production based on a novel by Gertrude Chandler, on Friday, June 16.
鈥淔rankenstein鈥� 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. 鈥淔rankenstein鈥� is suitable for ages 13 to adult.
Additional information on 鈥淔rankenstein鈥� and the rest of the Prime Stage Theatre season is available at primestage.com.