Cannibals, not deer and sci-fi horror: “A Good Reason to Be Afraid” opens at the Tom Kane Theater

As the cast of “A Good Reason to Be Afraid” rehearsed this weekend at the Tom Kane Theater in Industry City, the art from Bloodsuckers: A Vampire Group Art Show still hung on the walls, ensuring the mood was set.

The new horror play, opening Thursday, Oct. 9, is produced by BrooklynONE and co-written by longtime friends Zachary Aaron Croft and Isaiah Rothstein. The pair met in middle school in Winter Garden, Florida, and have been collaborating on and off ever since. Croft directs the production, which he describes as a “horror semi-anthology” — three short stories woven together around a campfire.

“We really wanted to do horror,” said Croft. “We’re passionate about so many different kinds of horror that an anthology was the perfect fit.”

The stories explore gothic, alien, and suspenseful corners of the genre. One features a shape-shifting creature called a “not deer,” while another centers on cannibalism and the fragile line between consent and madness.

With live theater, Croft said, the team had to lean less on jump scares and more on psychological tension. “It’s about the messed-up thoughts within the story,” he said.

The cast includes Emily Missud and Em Rose Stern, both South Brooklyn natives. The show is co-produced by Sunset Park resident Mitch Richman, who directed last year’s “SubUrbia” at the Kane. Stern, who recently moved to Sunset Park, said she loves horror and isn’t new to the darker side of performance.

“This isn’t my first time playing a cannibal,” she said, laughing. “I love getting to explore those strange corners of the mind.”

For Richman, the neighborhood connection makes productions at the theater special. “When BrooklynONE opened up the space here in Building 5, it has just fostered such a community,” he said. “A lot of people here are from Bay Ridge, from South Brooklyn. So whether it’s in the theater or outside the theater, it’s become my family.”

Missud described the play as a cross between Nickelodeon’s “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” and an episode of “Community,” where “everybody goes insane and kills each other.”

Lighting designer Catherine Cusick also returns after “SubUrbia” and, according to Richman, is “taking it leaps and bounds beyond what she was able to do last year,” thanks to a significant equipment investment by BrooklynONE. “She’s having a whirlwind with all the freedom and creativity that she gets to put into it,” said Richman.

Performances run Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m., with 3 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $20 general admission, or $30 for “campfire seats,” which include a drink, snack, and front-row view.

Ticket Link: https://brooklynoneproductions.thundertix.com/events/253188