Sad news in the local theater world this weekend as we learned that The Hypnodrome, the tucked-away SoMa home to the zany, drag- and horror-obsessed theater company known as Thrillpeddlers, has been sold and will be disappearing very soon. As a result, the future of Thrillpeddlers is up in the air, and there are less than two months left to visit the space or see a show there. Also, as founder and artistic director Russell Blackwood tells SFist, two full-scale musicals that were supposed to be mounted in the theater between now and May are being canceled, and, he says, "we do not now have production plans beyond February."

Thrillpeddlers began their 13-year run at The Hypnodrome at 575 10th Street back in 2004, building out a funky, small theater space equipped with several seats that shook and vibrated to help enhance the experience of their Grand-Guignol-inspired Shocktoberfest production — something that Blackwood and company have been producing annually, in the fall, for 17 years. Blackwood says he launched the shows with co-founder Daniel Zilber out of a space on Rose Street in the mid 1990's, across from Zuni, and only later would they find their home in SoMa.

Says Blackwood in a release, "In 2004, the space was originally offered to us for only two years, at which point there were plans to sell the building... The sale of the building never materialized during our 13 year tenure as potential buyers came and went." Blackwood adds that that uncertainty led to him only ever planning one show at a time, rather than ever offering a full season, and he says that the original benefactor who gave Thrillpeddlers use of the space quipped, about 12 years ago, "With my luck, you’ll be here 10 years."

Out of the mock horror genre also grew a revival of the spirit, and the works, of the famous Cockettes, aided by Cockettes alum Scrumbly Koldewyn, who was also the group's original composer. Thrillpeddlers worked with Scrumbly Koldewyn to revive (and improve) one of the Cockettes' original insane musicals, Pearls Over Shanghai, which went on to have a 22-month run at the Hypnodrome. Koldewyn has gone on to create more revivals and Cockettes-style shows with Thrillpeddlers, including 2015's Jewels of Paris, and one that was set to premiere this year, Amazon Apocalypse. That show will now only get a semi-staged concert version in February, for which tickets are available now.

Also, the sold-out, actually fully naked Naked Dudes Reading Lovecraft has added two more shows, on January 29 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., if you're into naked dudes and/or H.P. Lovecraft. And there is a Valentine's Day benefit, a "Farewell to the Hypnodrome" revue, with two performances on February 14, and tickets available here.

It seems at least possible that Thrillpeddlers will find their way to another venue, but their ten-year SoMa run, hidden away off of 10th Street, will come to an end following a rummage sale in late February. "I consider that a damned good run!" says Blackwood. Everyone who has ever walked through our back alley door has become a part of its notorious legacy!"

Related: SFist Reviews: 'Shocktoberfest 16: Curse of the Cobra' at The Hypnodrome