Three witches have flown into town to put a spell on you this weekend at the Red House Arts Center.

The Red House is showing a special screening of the holiday classic “Hocus Pocus” at 8 p.m. on Halloween and Nov. 1. But besides screening the movie, the theater decided to add a live performance aspect to the event as well — with a little bit of a twist.

“We could normally screen ‘Hocus Pocus’ like anyone else would, but we decided that instead of just screening it, we’d play the movie and then have the three witches dressed up in drag performing the musical numbers along with the movie as we’re screening it,” said Rachel Boucher, the Red House’s marketing director. “It’s really different and really fun at the same time. It gives the movie a new life, almost.”

The story of “Hocus Pocus” follows the three Sanderson sisters as they return to life for the first time since the 17th century Salem witch trials. Three kids and a talking cat summoned them back to life. The witches must now attempt to cast a spell on the town to regain their youth before their time is up and they must go back underground once again.

This event is the second installment of the theater’s Moonshine Movie Madness series catered to adults, in which all ticket sales include one free alcoholic beverage. However, for this family-friendly production of “Hocus Pocus,” all attendees will still be given a free drink along with their ticket stubs, but underage guests will be offered nonalcoholic beverages.

Boucher, who graduated from Syracuse University in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance, said there is also audience participation, similar to a “Rocky Horror Picture Show” screening, so that the Sanderson sisters are not the only ones enjoying themselves that night. Attendees are encouraged to come dressed in costumes, and then they are given participation kits including items like streamers to throw at the actors; streamers come with instructions of when to use them.

Boucher said she is unsure of whether “Hocus Pocus” has ever been performed like this before, but she credits the Red House executive director as its brainchild. Boucher said it worked because of the director’s extensive amount of creativity and knack for thinking outside of the box — something she said is not uncommon for productions at the Red House.

“We try to do a little something different for every show that we do here,” she said. “If you come see a show at the Red House, you’ll never see the same show you saw somewhere else.”

Published on October 31, 2013 at 1:36 am

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