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Monsters are Universal

Silver Screams in Hollywood's Golden Age

Largely Literary Theater Company co-founders Sara Showman and Mark Dawidziak regal us with lighthearted sketches about Hollywood's Golden Age of Horror

Sara and Mark use lighthearted sketches, props and costume pieces to explore Hollywood's Golden Age of horror, with a special emphasis on the Universal films starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, as well as the genre's literary origins, from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Dracula to Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, from H. G. Wells' The Invisible Man to Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera. Join us for a monstrous good time that shows how famous film fiends became beloved characters. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session. There also will be a book signing featuring many of Dawidziak's horror-centric titles, including The Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Dracula and his novel with supernatural sleuth Carl Kolchak, Grave Secrets.  

The Largely Literary Theater Company, LLC, was founded in 2002 by Mark Dawidziak and Sara Showman. Their mission is to promote literature, literacy and live theater. For the past twenty years, they have toured all over Ohio and performed in Michigan, Virginia, Connecticut and New York state. They have produced faithful adaptations of works by Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson. Dashiell Hammett, Walt Whitman, Rod Serling, Ambrose Bierce and Charles Dickens. Showman is also a storyteller, who performs for both children and adults. Her shows include folktales, historical tale, original stories and seasonal offerings. They have participated in three National Endowment For The Arts Big Reads and twice in the annual celebration of all things Twilight Zone in Binghamton, New York. They have also performed at the Center For Mark Twain Studies in Elmira, New York.

This program has been updated to require registration. Due to changing guidelines from the CDC regarding COVID-19, we believe this is the best way to keep you informed about the status of our programs.

For questions or additional information you can reach the Culture & AV desk at 330.643.9015 or cadiv@akronlibrary.org.

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