For more than 60 years, George A. Romero’s first film was believed to have been destroyed in a basement flood. Now, Expostulations, the filmmaker’s 1962 short, is set to screen in full for the first time ever, accompanied by a live orchestra performing a newly commissioned score.
The George A. Romero Foundation (GARF) and composer Christian Kriegeskotte have announced George A. Romero’s A Night at the Symphony, a one-night-only concert celebrating the life and work of the filmmaker known as the “Godfather of Horror.” Presented by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, the event will take place on March 26, 2027, at 7:30 p.m. at Pittsburgh’s Byham Theater. The venue has special significance for Romero fans. Then known as the Fulton, this theater was where Romero premiered Night of the Living Dead in 1968. Nearly six decades later, it will host the world premiere of a concert that brings together music from several of Romero’s films and the first full screening of his previously lost debut.
Tickets are on sale now through the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, and a promotional video for the event can be seen here:
George A. Romero’s Expostulations Will Screen With a Live Orchestral Score
The centerpiece of A Night at the Symphony is Expostulations, a short film made by Romero in 1962. For decades, the film was believed lost, with its original elements thought to have been destroyed in a basement flood. The rediscovery of surviving 16mm footage brought an important missing piece of Romero’s early career back into view. The surviving material has been preserved and restored by the George A. Romero Foundation, with help from people connected to the filmmaker’s life and career. The footage offers a rare look at Pittsburgh in the early 1960s, particularly the city’s historic Hill District and surrounding neighborhoods. It also features a majority cast of local African-American actors.
The complete film will be screened with a newly commissioned orchestral score composed by Kriegeskotte and performed live to picture by the Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh. The screening will be part of the concert’s larger exploration of Romero’s creative influences and the music associated with his filmmaking career.
Kriegeskotte, whose film and television credits include Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, The Simpsons, War of the Worlds, and Sin City, explained how the concert developed:
“At first I thought it would be fun simply to reimagine the music from some of Romero’s most notable films for live orchestra. I started out as a studio orchestra musician in Hollywood, and having seen the ongoing popularity of movies like Star Wars and Harry Potter in symphonic spaces I wanted to turn the spotlight toward less recognized heroes of indie cinema whose films helped shape my own creative imagination. I only discovered later that Romero’s inspiration to become a filmmaker came from the film adaptation of an opera, and a natural throughline began to emerge, revealing unrealized projects and lesser-known collaborations that felt perfectly at home in the concert hall. When the GARF asked me to write an original score to accompany Expostulations, I knew we had a remarkable program on our hands.”
A Night at the Symphony Celebrates Romero’s Horror Classics
Although Expostulations is the main attraction, the concert will also feature newly orchestrated music from several of Romero’s best-known films, including Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Martin, and Knightriders.
The program will open with Kriegeskotte’s original overture, Beyond the Living Dead, a theme and variations inspired by the first 10 notes heard in Night of the Living Dead. Other highlights include music from John Harrison’s iconic synth score for Day of the Dead, with part of the performance featuring Harrison’s original Prophet-5 synthesizer, and Donald Rubinstein’s music from Martin and Knightriders, expanded and reimagined for full symphony orchestra.
The evening will also include music that inspired Romero, surprise guests, and a broader celebration of his creative legacy.
Tina Romero, the filmmaker’s daughter and Acting President of the George A. Romero Foundation, had this to say:
“My dad was relentlessly curious, and his imagination was never confined to a single genre, medium, or moment in his career. A Night at the Symphony gives audiences access to parts of that creative journey that are rarely seen together. Dad loved music and had a huge collection of movie scores on vinyl. He absolutely would have loved this project. To premiere it in Pittsburgh, in the very theater where Night of the Living Dead was introduced to audiences nearly six decades ago, makes the evening especially meaningful.”
Proceeds Will Support the George A. Romero Foundation
The George A. Romero Foundation is the executive producer of A Night at the Symphony. All net revenue generated by the world premiere and future bookings of the concert will benefit the foundation’s ongoing work. Its initiatives include scholarships and fellowships for emerging horror creatives, the restoration and preservation of Romero’s work, support for the growing horror archive at the University of Pittsburgh’s Hillman Library, and efforts to establish an endowment to name the university’s new Horror Studies Center the George A. Romero Horror Studies Center.
Two VIP add-on packages are also available for the Pittsburgh performance. The VIP Meet & Greet Package includes post-concert access with members of the George A. Romero Foundation creative team and VIP guests, along with a limited-edition T-shirt, signed concert poster, signed copy of Romero’s The Amusement Park graphic novel, and a surprise merchandise and collectibles bag. The VIP Merchandise Package includes the same merchandise without the meet-and-greet. Both packages require a separate concert ticket.
The concert is expected to run approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, including an intermission.
For Romero fans, the event offers an unusual opportunity to experience the filmmaker’s work in a new setting while revisiting a significant piece of his history. Expostulations provides a glimpse of the young filmmaker’s early creative development, while the music from Night of the Living Dead and his other films celebrates the career that followed.
George A. Romero’s A Night at the Symphony will make its world premiere on March 26, 2027, at the Byham Theater in Pittsburgh. Tickets and additional information are available through the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Will you be attending? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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