Music makes 'Halloween' even eerier

If you're looking for something truly twisted this Halloween season, look no farther than Mary's Attic (above Andersonville's Hamburger Mary's) on Tuesdays and Wednesdays through Oct. 31. That's where the twisted minds of Scott Bradley and Jonny Stax will be presenting their musical spoof of John Carpenter's iconic horror film "Halloween."

And if the thought of a musical spoof of one of the scariest horror movies of all time doesn't send chills up your spine, try this: The story is told through the pop music of the Carpenters.

Can rainy days, Mondays and maniac killers always get you down?

Bradley, who wrote, directs and stars in "Carpenters Halloween" as the teenage heroine, doesn't think so.

"When I think of 'Halloween,' I think of a beautiful, sad, lonely teenager named Laurie Strode," Bradley explains. "And when I think of the Carpenters, I think of beautiful, sad, lonely pop music."

It didn't take much to convince Stax, Bradley's writing partner (and the show's pianist, arranger and music director).

"Having worked with Scott for several years, I know his ideas are usually crazy, but they're also brilliant," he says. "Having spent the last couple of weeks reworking, staging and infusing the material with the music, I think it actually turned out better than thought it would."

The 1978 film told the story of Strode, a teenager babysitting on Halloween when a mask-wearing manic escapes from a mental institution, murders several of her friends and finally ends up at her doorstep. The shy wallflower musters courage to challenge the bogeyman.

Bradley and Stax's 80-minute version tells the same story, but the nine actors in the show occasionally break out into song.

That even includes the silent killer (called "The Shape" in the original film and then later known as Michael Myers).

"Yeah, we give 'The Shape' a song, and it is frightening," Bradley says with a laugh.

"The thing that makes this both frightening and funny at the same time is the juxtaposition," Stax says. "You have this really gritty horror film with some of the most beautiful pop music out there. It just works.

"It sounds weird," he adds. "And when you see it it will be even weirder than you thought."

Catch "Carpenters Halloween" at 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays through Oct. 31 at Mary's Attic, 5400 N. Clark. Tickets, $10 at the door, www.myspace.com/scootyjojo.