Bad Medicine Blends Horror, Humor, and Indigenous Storytelling in a Bold World Premiere
- 14 hours ago
- 4 min read
What happens when classic horror tropes are turned upside down and reimagined through an Indigenous lens? Playwright PC Verrone answers that question with Bad Medicine. This world premiere production combines supernatural suspense, sharp comedy, and timely social commentary into an unforgettable theatrical experience that encourages reflection on Indigenous issues and representation.
While audiences may recognize echoes of horror classics, Bad Medicine is anything but conventional. Verrone describes the production as "Indigenous Get Out meets Rosemary's Baby," offering a fresh take on the genre while challenging long-standing stereotypes that have often defined Native characters and cultures in film and theater.
The inspiration for the play came from a desire to rethink familiar horror conventions.
"This play started as an attempt to balance my love of horror stories with their overuse of tropes like 'Indian burial grounds' and 'cursed totems,'" Verrone explains. "I wanted to flip the script by writing a story that centered Native perspectives and made the source of the mystical terror European in origin."
That shift in perspective allows Bad Medicine to do more than entertain. Beneath its scares lies a meaningful exploration of Indigenous identity, colonialism, cultural appropriation, and Native communities' everyday experiences, emphasizing its relevance for social justice advocates and Indigenous audiences.
Verrone says horror proved to be the ideal genre for exploring those themes because of its ability to amplify emotional truths.
"I wanted to connect the ways that Native people are discouraged from seeking out community and culture with non-Native peoples' appropriation of those same cultures," he says. "I hadn't really seen that relationship discussed in that way. Horror's heightened emotional scale allowed me to reveal the real violence in the small, everyday indignities that Native people experience."
Although Bad Medicine delivers genuine suspense, audiences can also expect plenty of humor. For Verrone, the combination wasn't something he consciously planned. It simply reflects the way he approaches storytelling.
"That wasn't necessarily intentional," he says. "I think I naturally gravitate to comedy as a way out of very tense situations. What I love about horror as a genre is that it can be campy and over-the-top, as well as spooky and suspenseful. You can twist the audience's expectations and really surprise them!"
Authenticity has been central to every aspect of the production. From the beginning, Verrone believed Indigenous representation throughout the cast and creative team wasn't simply important, it was essential.
"Oh, that was paramount," he says. "The play is about Native personhood being co-opted by non-Native people, so the entire show would fall apart if not for Native creatives throughout the production. But this representation is also necessary because we all come from a variety of different tribes and nations, so we're also bringing our own culturally specific perspectives to the themes of this show."
Seeing Bad Medicine come to life on stage has been a deeply personal milestone for the playwright.
"I don't exaggerate when I say that this has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid," Verrone says. "We don't invest nearly enough into producing new plays by emerging playwrights, so I'm grateful to be in this position. It has been unreal seeing the creative team bring their own visions to the world that I wrote and puzzling out how to transform the play's moments of theatrical magic from words on a page to a fully embodied experience."
Beyond the thrills and laughs, Verrone hopes audiences leave the theater reflecting on their own relationship with Indigenous communities and culture.
"I would like audiences to leave considering their relationships to Indigeneity," he says. "What are the assumptions you have about Native people that are, in fact, limiting or dehumanizing? What is your connection to your own heritage? I want people to leave understanding that there is work to be done, but there is a dawn at the end of the night." This reflection is central to the play's social commentary and its call for awareness and change.
As someone who has worked across multiple storytelling mediums, Verrone says live theater offers a uniquely collaborative creative process unlike any other.
"There is a unique energy to being part of a collaborative process like live theater," he explains. "When I write a script, my goal is not to be didactic about how the story should appear onstage, but rather, to write in such a way that will inspire my fellow collaborators. I think of it as an invitation for their imagination."
That spirit of collaboration, and the play's willingness to challenge expectations, makes Bad Medicine appealing even for audiences who may not typically see themselves as theatergoers or horror fans, inspiring curiosity and a desire to explore new storytelling experiences.
"Bad Medicine is not your typical play, nor is it your typical horror story," Verrone says. "In some ways, this play is breaking the rules of both to create necessary conversations about how we exist on this land in relationship with its Indigenous peoples. This question is only becoming more pressing as our current attitudes lead us towards environmental catastrophe and the total degradation of the human spirit."
With its blend of suspense, humor, and meaningful social commentary, Bad Medicine demonstrates how theater can entertain while asking audiences to examine history, identity, and the stories we tell about one another.
Santa Fe Playhouse invites audiences to experience the world premiere of Bad Medicine running August 8–30, 2026, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Opening Night is August 8. Tickets are available at santafeplayhouse.org
For readers interested in exploring more of Verrone's work, his debut novel, Rabbit, Fox, Tar, is available wherever books are sold. Information about future productions of Bad Medicine and upcoming projects can be found at pcverrone.com.
- Teresa Robinson of PRIDE & Equality Magazine and New Mexico Entertainment Magazine
