COURTESY

This musical was devised by people whose heads are still attached to their bodies, but they may have lost their minds.

THE RUNDOWN

WHAT: ‘The Brain That

Wouldn't Die'

WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 2-30, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31 with a ‘Mad Science Ball' party and costume contest afterward

WHERE: The Overtime Theater, 1216 West Ave.

HOW MUCH: $12 general admission

INFO: (210) 380-0326;

www.theovertimetheater.net/brain.htm

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What more can you ask of an outlandish play than to have a woman's decapitated head spouting dialogue? “The Brain That Wouldn't Die,” opening at the Overtime Theater on Oct. 2 has that to offer and then some.

Melodrama, cheesy special effects, Halloween-appropriate gore and bad dialogue are all part of the “Brain” performance package. The musical is based on the old sci-fi/horror film masterpiece (we use the term masterpiecevery loosely) by the same name.

The story is about a young surgeon and his bride-to-be, who is decapitated in a car crash. Using his medical skills and experimental adrenoserum, the surgeon keeps his fiancée's head alive in a pan and goes on the hunt for the perfect transplant body.

As for key ingredients to turn the cult classic into a wacky musical, “The Brain That Wouldn't Die” has it all, producer John Poole said. “Well, strippers help. Blood is good. Spooky effects, outlandish dialogue and really good and crazy dance choreography done by Charles Barksdale.”

Overtime members received such positive feedback for last year's musical, “Sheer Bloody Lunacy!”, another cult classic remake, that they decided to adapt “The Brain That Wouldn't Die.” Jon Gillespie was able to adapt the work because the film is now in the public domain.

“We're using a lot of the same dialogue and script ideas, but (we're) pushing it even further by turning it into a musical,” said Gillespie, who also wrote the songs' lyrics. “We like the old bad movies, the ones that are so bad that they're good. You want to make fun of them, yell along with them, point out all the inconsistencies. It's kind of encouraging that same vision with our musicals where we want the audience to go out and have fun and really get into it and be rowdy.”

Gillespie said that in adapting the film, the theater company was able to take the creativity and talent available in San Antonio and add a twist by making it into a musical.

Creative viewing is in order, too. Those who go should be aware that the front row seats will be designated a splash, squirt and fondle zone (during a scene set in a strip club).

Jennifer Lloyd | 210SA