The spirit of legendary B-movie director Roger Corman will hover over the Kansas City theater scene this spring.

In March, the Living Room will present “A Bucket of Blood,” a new stage version of a comic horror film set against the backdrop of 1950s beatnik culture that Corman shot for $50,000 in a lumberyard. The film, written by Charles B. Griffith, is a satire on visual art as a young artist finds fame by creating “sculptures” that are actually people encased in plaster.

The version at the Living Room was adapted by screenwriter/playwright Mitch Brian and will be directed by Cody Wyoming. The enormous cast includes actors and artists who are part of the Living Room creative family: Matt Weiss, Forrest Attaway, Damian Blake, Kelly Main, Coleman Crenshaw, Meredith Wolfe, Kimberley Queen (who is also designing the show), Matt Anderson, Brian Stubler, Bryan Moses and Emma Taylor. The production will also feature live music created by Johnny Hamil, Jeff Freling, Kent Burnham, Christian Hankel, Katie Gilchrist and Wyoming.

The show runs March 19-April 1. You can find more information at thelivingroomkc .com. The downtown theater is at 1818 McGee St.

Corman used the sets for “Bucket of Blood” for his next feature, “The Little Shop of Horrors,” another entry in the horror-comedy genre written by Griffith, which is remembered for one of Jack Nicholson’s earliest film performances. And, as it so happens, the Kansas City Repertory Theatre will present the musical version of the film April 20-May 20 at Copaken Stage, the Rep’s downtown performance space at 13th and Walnut streets. Kyle Hatley, the Rep’s associate artistic director, is staging the show. Find out more at www.kcrep.org.

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