Press Release

12/3/19

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The Hippodrome Theatre is excited to announce our fourth piece in The Hipp Unplugged staged reading series: The Walmart Book of the Dead , a hilarious piece of satirical fiction by Lucy Biederman, adapted and directed for the Hipp stage by Laura Shatkus ( Miracle on South Division Street , Ripcord , 1984 , and A Christmas Carol ).

Set in a Walmart store in the afterlife, The Walmart Book of the Dead channels the Papyrus of Ani (ca. 1250 B.C.E.) and guides the audience through the underworld using “spells” and illustrations, short vignettes and monologues, guaranteed to provide a fruitful death. Just in time for the frenzied consumerism of the holiday season, come to Walmart where the lawyers and junkies, college drop-outs and raccoons, hustlers and greeters all come together, clawing their way through the aisles, in search of a peaceful transition into the vast beyond.

This original theatrical adaptation is being workshopped and devised with a diverse ensemble of Hipp company members, UF students, local high school students, and visiting professional actors including Chris Hecke, Bryan Mercer, Nicole Mooradian, Jahnathan Nixon, Katie Pankow, E. Stanley Richardson, Julia Schack, Nyk Smith, Maddy Smyth, Joel Stigliano, and Diana Truman.

The performance is part of the Hipp Unplugged reading series and will take place on Monday, December 9 and Tuesday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m. on the Hippodrome Cinema stage. Tickets are $10 and the performance will last 90 minutes. Tickets can be purchased at the door or through the Hipp website at thehipp.org/upcoming-events.