Lots of options for safe, virtual Halloween fun
From plays and operas to drive-in movies and events, here’s where to get your thrills
People might find themselves with extra time on their hands this Halloween season, with a lot of costume parties, concerts, big get-togethers and trick- or-treating excursions canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
So here are some ways to have a spooky good time in the Bay Area while sheltering at home or in a safe, socially distanced environment.
VIRTUAL “NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD” >> For some fright fans, watching George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” during the Halloween season is an annual tradition. And we can totally understand why — this 1968 film is an absolute classic, which basically wrote the rule book for the modern- day zombie flick as it upped the ante for horror in so many ways.
But instead of (or, better yet, in addition to) watching the actual film on TV, join San Jose Stage Company this weekend for its virtual reimagining of “Night of the Living Dead.” The online production is a hybrid of theater, film and classic radio drama.
DETAILS >> Daily through Saturday; $40; thestage.org.
DRIVE-THRU PIRATES OF EMERSON IN PLEASANTON >> The Fields family has been hosting this popular haunt every year in the East Bay since the early ’90s. Yet it looked like that streak might end in 2020 due to what was going on with the coronavirus pandemic. But instead of throwing in the towel, the Fieldses pivoted and decided to turn the Pirates of Emerson Halloween haunt into a massive drivethru experience at the Alameda County Fairgrounds.
It takes approximately 20 minutes to make your way through the 10-acre site, ( literally) passing through, among other things, a cemetery, a haunted house, a jail and, of course, a pirate ship. Along the way, an assortment of live actors, wielding chain saws, knives and other instruments of pain, will do their best to scare you. DETAILS >> 7:05-10 p.m. today; 7:05 p.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday; 7:05-10 p.m. Sunday; Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton; $95 per vehicle (no trucks or motorcycles); tickets must be purchased online in advance; www. piratesofemerson.com.
DRIVE-THRUSPOOKTACULARINSAN RAFAEL >> North Bay families can also get in on the good times at the Halloween Fair Food Drive-Thru Spooktacular at the Marin Center
in San Rafael. Don your costumes, buckle up and get ready to see animatronic dinosaurs, skeletons and other Spooktacular sights. The family-friendly event also features plenty of tasty Halloween treats as well as such fair food favorites as giant corn dogs and turkey legs, funnel cake, churros, kettle corn, caramel corn, ribs and — oh, yeah! — deep-fried Oreos.
DETAILS >> 4-9 p.m. today and Friday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; $10; www.facebook.com/ events/624536821755066.
“LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR” >> With its stunning acts of cruelty and betrayal, a murder and one of operadom’s most famous meltdowns, Donizetti’s classic may be the perfect opera for Halloween. The folks at San Francisco Opera apparently agree with us, as they are making the company’s 2008 production of the 2½-hour work, starring French soprano Natalie Dessay and filmed in high definition at the War Memorial, Opera House available for streaming this weekend. DETAILS >> 10 a.m. Saturday-11:58 p.m. Sunday; free but donations
encouraged; sfopera.com.
FRIGHT NIGHTS AT THE DRIVE-INS >> Horror movie fans should head to the West Wind Drive-In Theaters, which are in the midst of an epic “13 Nights of Fright” series. Offerings range from classics to recent releases, and family-friendly flicks to straight-up gore fests. The series continues through Halloween at all of the company’s drive-in locations in California, Nevada and Arizona, including the Capitol Drive-In in San Jose, Solano Drive-In in Concord and the Sacramento Drive-In. DETAILS >> Through Saturday; $8$8.50 general admission, $2 ages 5-11 and free for those under age 4; www.westwinddi.com.
“THE WAR OF THE WORLDS” >> It’s the most infamous radio play in history, one that was so frighteningly believable when it was narrated by Orson Welles from New York’s Mercury Theatre in 1938 that some listeners though an alien invasion was indeed taking place. So, just keep repeating to yourself “It’s only a radio play” when the Tabard Theatre Company presents
“The War of the Worlds: The 1938 Radio Script,” a three-day special theatrical event directed by Jonathan Rhys Williams that streams over Halloween weekend. DETAILS >> 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; $15-$50; www. tabardtheatre.org.
CITY LIGHTS’ “SPOOKY LIGHTS” >> San Jose’s City Lights Theater Company is releasing its second podcast series on the Filament channel — and, yes, it’s all about the Halloween season. “Spooky Lights” is a Halloween-friendly collection of original stories and poems read by artists from the City Lights community. The offerings include City Lights artistic director Lisa Mallette reading her daughter Sophie’s creepy story “Love Burns”; the poem “They Do the Monster Bash,” set in City Lights’ SoFA neighborhood and read by actor Keenan Flagg; and the story “Red,” written by actor Melinda Marks and read by City Lights marketing director Rebecca Wallace. DETAILS >> Episodes released today, Saturday and Monday; free; cltc.org/filament.