Andrews Living Arts, Fort Lauderdale, Florida October 2013
Music by Dana P. Rowe Lyrics & Book John Dempsey
Directed by Geoff Short
Musical direction by Bob Boyer
with Choreography by Blake Simons
STARRING
Sarah Alexa Boynton
Robyn Eli Brenner
Christie Olivera
Larry Bressler
Sarah Rachel Lazarus
Sklenny Senat
Mariah Chase
Spencer Perlman
Ashley Hyde
Blake Simons
Music by Dana P. Rowe Lyrics & Book John Dempsey
Directed by Geoff Short
Musical direction by Bob Boyer
with Choreography by Blake Simons
STARRING
Sarah Alexa Boynton
Robyn Eli Brenner
Christie Olivera
Larry Bressler
Sarah Rachel Lazarus
Sklenny Senat
Mariah Chase
Spencer Perlman
Ashley Hyde
Blake Simons
We interrupt this website for an emergency bulletin...
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This girl loves ghoul rock and roll Off Broadway musical (which started its life in South Florida - first Key West, then Fort Lauderdale!) is set in the atomic 1950s at Enrico Fermi High, where the law is laid down by a zany, tyrannical principal. Pretty senior Toffee has fallen for the class bad boy. Family pressure forces her to end the romance, and he charges off on his motorcycle to the nuclear waste dump. He returns glowing and determined to reclaim Toffee's heart. He still wants to graduate, but most of all he wants to take Toffee to the prom. The principal orders him to drop dead while a scandal reporter seizes on him as the freak du jour. History comes to his rescue while a tuneful selection of original songs in the style of 50s hits keeps the action rocking across the stage.
Geoff's Director's Note:
From Eve and Adam, to the atom bomb
Here's to all the years ahead and to our Zombie Prom!
When I first heard the words "Zombie" and "Prom" put together in a show title, the musical theatre snob in me immediately thought that this had to be one of the most inane concepts for a show ever. I couldn't have been more wrong. I am so glad that my musical theatre curiosity took over. I listened to the original cast recording and I was instantly hooked. The music, by Dana Rowe is rich, layered and dense with hooks and harmonies that refuse to let go of your ears. The lyrics by John Dempsey are brilliantly funny and obviously born from the mind of a master wordsmith. A perfect musical recipe that quickly made it clear that I would soon be going to a Zombie Prom.
But I could not have dreamed that my date would be as amazing as the incredible cast you'll see onstage now and that would be my partners at this crazy dance.
I could not feel luckier or more privileged to have worked this amazing combination of artists. They are brave, curious, playful, fiercely talented and even more fiercely good people. They never flinched at the ridiculousness of these situations. They rose to the occasion time and time again when dense harmonies and musical movement were thrown at them in combination with a book full of impossibly outlandish situations. They poured their hearts and their talent into this deceptively difficult piece of musical theatre that would be daunting for most casts and triumphed. Yes, the premise is deliciously cheesy and corny in the most hilarious grade Z horror movie kind of way. Boy meets girl. Girl dumps boy. Boy dives into a nuclear reactor. Boy comes back as an undead student to reunite and renroll. Wackiness ensues. But from day one, I encouraged our team to embrace that cheesiness. To celebrate it and therefore to believe it. That's where the genuine heart of a hilarious work like Zombie Prom lives - in the cast transforming into these characters actually living this outrageous adventure genuinely in this moment, in this place right now. They have to be dead serious about their comedy. And our ZP cast has risen to the occasion. I am humbled and grateful.
So thank you for visiting us here at Enrico Fermi High. Now it's your turn to believe in zombies. Wanna Dance?
-Geoff Short
From Eve and Adam, to the atom bomb
Here's to all the years ahead and to our Zombie Prom!
When I first heard the words "Zombie" and "Prom" put together in a show title, the musical theatre snob in me immediately thought that this had to be one of the most inane concepts for a show ever. I couldn't have been more wrong. I am so glad that my musical theatre curiosity took over. I listened to the original cast recording and I was instantly hooked. The music, by Dana Rowe is rich, layered and dense with hooks and harmonies that refuse to let go of your ears. The lyrics by John Dempsey are brilliantly funny and obviously born from the mind of a master wordsmith. A perfect musical recipe that quickly made it clear that I would soon be going to a Zombie Prom.
But I could not have dreamed that my date would be as amazing as the incredible cast you'll see onstage now and that would be my partners at this crazy dance.
I could not feel luckier or more privileged to have worked this amazing combination of artists. They are brave, curious, playful, fiercely talented and even more fiercely good people. They never flinched at the ridiculousness of these situations. They rose to the occasion time and time again when dense harmonies and musical movement were thrown at them in combination with a book full of impossibly outlandish situations. They poured their hearts and their talent into this deceptively difficult piece of musical theatre that would be daunting for most casts and triumphed. Yes, the premise is deliciously cheesy and corny in the most hilarious grade Z horror movie kind of way. Boy meets girl. Girl dumps boy. Boy dives into a nuclear reactor. Boy comes back as an undead student to reunite and renroll. Wackiness ensues. But from day one, I encouraged our team to embrace that cheesiness. To celebrate it and therefore to believe it. That's where the genuine heart of a hilarious work like Zombie Prom lives - in the cast transforming into these characters actually living this outrageous adventure genuinely in this moment, in this place right now. They have to be dead serious about their comedy. And our ZP cast has risen to the occasion. I am humbled and grateful.
So thank you for visiting us here at Enrico Fermi High. Now it's your turn to believe in zombies. Wanna Dance?
-Geoff Short
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One of Geoff's early set renderings. The small black box stage space of Andrews Living Arts presents unique challenges, but this production used the static setting of the Enrico Fermi High School hallway as the central location. Other locales were suggested by simply using chairs in different configurations. The limitations of these settings actually played well into the cheesy, grade-b horror movie theme of the piece.
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Geoffrey Short
Northeast Ohio Entertainer
Northeast Ohio Entertainer