For the first time ever on stage, the tragic story of the Torrance family, Jack, Wendy and Danny, and their battle against the inhuman forces of the Overlook Hotel will come to life at Omaha’s Sokol Auditorium in the world premiere event, Stephen King’s The Shining, a play.
Stephen King granted the rights for three performances of the play on March 21 & 22 and approved the script written by Omaha residents Benson Theatre Artistic Director Jason Levering and Aaron Sailors. The cast has been locked and will start rehearsals this week, announced Levering, who is also directing the play.
The play offers theatergoers the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a brand new, never produced piece of theatre, based on a classic novel, brought to life, from a script that no one has ever seen, and encounter all of the joys and obstacles that come with a first run production. All proceeds will benefit the Benson Theatre in Omaha, NE.
“Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Stephen King, we have a unique opportunity to bring his horror masterpiece to the stage for a great cause. A little known fact is that Mr. King originally conceived The Shining as a sort of play – a tragedy with five acts – but it instead evolved into a novel with five parts,” commented Levering.
THREE PERFORMANCES ONLY
Supporters of the theater can also make additional donations through the Benson Theatre website any time and through the crowd-funding campaign, which offers a variety of incentives at different contribution levels, currently running on Hatchfund.org for the next 23 days.
http://www.hatchfund.org/project/stephen_kings_the_shining
Photo (above): Christina Rohling as “Wendy,” Marc Erickson as “Jack” and Christopher Levering as “Danny” in Stephen King’s “The Shining,” A Play.
(c) 2014 Benson Theatre (Photo by Marc Longbrake)
