Run of the Living Dead

Break out your Halloween costumes early and come dressed to be chased by the zombie hoard through the streets of Gadsden! This will be an evening race benefitting the Theatre of Gadsden and the historical Ritz Theatre. All runners and walkers are welcome. Feel free to bring whatever light sources you want to run with!

Registration will begin inside the Ritz at 4 pm, 2 hours before the race. However, we highly advise attending our pre-registration event on Friday, 21 October from 5-8 pm! Pick up your packet early and beat the crowds! We will have an afterparty at the theatre with food, costume contests, and a free showing of Night of the Living Dead! Support your local community theatre and come take part in our Halloween festivities!

FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO BE A ZOMBIE: We have some availability for anyone who wishes to be a zombie, hide out and scare our runners! Note that this year there are TWO zombie registration categories. Paid zombies will receive a t-shirt and be eligible for awards, but you can sign up for free as a volunteer to dress up and chase our runners! We will have some makeup/costuming on hand, but please come zombiefied if you already have materials!

Long before there was The Theatre of Gadsden, The Ritz Theatre provided a place for the people of Alabama City to escape the dull reality of their day-to-day lives. She began life in 1927 as a nickelodeon in the building next door to the current location. The Ritz moved just four years later into a spot formerly occupied by a grocery store. After a couple of renovations and expansions, The Ritz became the building we know and love today.

Alabama City has seen many changes over the years. Industry has come and gone...Republic Steel, Dwight Cotton Mill, General Time, and more. Locally-owned shops once populated Wall Street. Through it all, The Ritz has been a true survivor; she is the only remaining theatre of the six which were once in Alabama City.

She stopped showing movies on February 20, 1965 with a double feature of Unearthly Stranger and The Time Travelers. She then sat still for five years until Gadsden Civic Theatre purchased the building and reopened The Ritz as a legitimate theatre on October 26, 1971 with the playBorn Yesterday. Gadsden Civic Theatre later merged with Actors Community Theatre to form Theatre of Gadsden, which still makes its home at The Ritz.