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Zombie Prom Also see recent reviews of Three Tall Women, The Goodbye Girl, and Abyssinia Ah, October! The cold weather comes in, the leaves begin to fall off the trees, and Halloween is around the corner. So, before our metroplex theatres begin to mount those seasonal Christmas shows, Garland Civic Theatre has decided to get into a spooky mood and mount the musical Zombie Prom. Zombie Prom takes us to the nuclear 1950s and into the hallways of Enrico Fermi High School. The new kid, a thug named Jonny (J. Mathew Butler), comes to school in a leather jacket with no "h" in his name because that's how much of a rebel he is! He encounters the school principal from hell, Miss Strict (Lisa Anne Haram). But Jonny also meets and falls for Toffee (Nikki Wensel), the school's peppy, preppy most popular girl on campus. Sadly their relationship does not last and Jonny kills himself by jumping into the bowels of a nuclear plant. From there the rebel teen comes back from the grave and tries to woo and win the heart of his intended love and escort her to The Miracles of Molecules Prom, even though he is a walking corpse. Zombie Prom is meant to be a campy '50s doo-wop ode to those "rebel without a cause" drive-in teen flicks doomed to be labeled "B" pictures. While on paper this might have sounded like a great idea, the end result is like looking into your trick-n-treat bag. You find some great candy, but you also find in the mixture some unwanted pieces of sweets. The major problems lie within the limp score and lifeless book. The score seems to take the same three riff chords (ala doo-wop fifties sounds) and repeat them over and over, only changing the key or tempo slightly to signify another song. The songs are jam-packed with fast and furious lyrics, but many are lost throughout the evening. They mesh together to become one long three chord song. Occasionally the score hits the jackpot: songs such as "Rules, Regulations, and Respect," "The Voice in the Ocean," "How Can I Say Good-Bye?," and "Expose" are written in different chords and themes (one is a tango) thus becoming the best numbers of the evening. The book (what there was of it, a majority of it was music) is an attempt to take one joke and turn it into a two hour musical, but it just doesn't succeed. Major comic conflicts or situations pertaining to Jonny that could have made the production much more enjoyable are never setup up. Director/Choreographer Andi Allen has a wonderful technique in her projects - sneaking in pop culture references that really add life and laughter to her productions. In the number "It's Alive" she has her company do dance movements that remind one of Michael Jackson's "Thriller." In another number, which takes place at the prom, she has the company dancing Jerome Robbins choreography from the "Gym Dance" of West Side Story. Allen's choreography saved a lot of the lifeless music in Cowboys, a musical she directed and choreographed earlier this season, and she again earns her paycheck by creating interesting and eye pleasing choreography to help cover the flaws of the book and score. In "Rules, Regulations, and Respect" and "How Can I Say Good-bye?" she creates various levels of humorous comedy. Allen's direction shows her strength in blocking - she keeps the action in constant motion and does not allow the odd structure of GCT's space to affect her or her company. I really saw no sight problems from where I was sitting. She keeps her cast dedicated to their roles and choreography. The production did show some opening night jitters, such as long blackouts for scene changes, when in fact when there really wasn't that much set to move. I am sure this will all gel after a couple of performances. Scott Eckert's musical direction is right on the money, as usual. His scope and expertise in creating music and conducting musical scores to their full potential is why he is always in demand, and in Zombie Prom he again displays why that comment is so true. Eckert keeps the music and underscoring at an energetic tempo. It is a perfect idea to have the band dressed as workers of the nuclear plant since they are situated right in front of the plant itself. But I must say I don't know if it is a good idea to have the five piece band right on stage with the cast. With no wall or solid pieces of cloth, wood, etc. to muffle the sound, the band often overpowers the cast. This is not helped by the amount of underscoring built into the score. This is not the fault of Mr. Eckert, for he can be seen off and on throughout the evening conducting with his hands, telling the musicians to bring the volume down even more. I think the problem lies in the odd geometric design of the theatre's walls and ceiling that seem to create dead air pockets that swallow up the sound without letting it come down onto the audience. It also seems that the body mikes are never turned to full volume, or that they could not just bring forth volume of the performers' vocals. A lot of the dialogue and lyrics are lost and lyrics throughout the evening. For the most part the performances succeed. Lisa Anne Haram is wigged in an Aqua Net sprayed to fierce stiffness jiffy pop hairstyle that I just adore. Haram is dressed perfectly as Miss Strict, from the green apple pumps to her matching necklace to her eggshell dress that is sort of an "Our Miss Brooks goes to a women's prison" ensemble. Haram's make-up (which reminds me of Glenn Close's make up in the last scene at the opera in Dangerous Liaisons) is another delicious comedic touch. Haram is quite funny and you can see her really enjoy the role. She adds sarcastic biting wit to her songs, but sometimes when she has to go into her head voice she tends to go too soft, thus the sound of her voice is lost. Her lower register is much stronger and solid with full vibrato. Where Haram really hits the comedic bull's eye is her facial expressions; she can contort her face from butch school administrator from Oz Prison, to a woman in heat and in the need of a man now, in her scenes with Nye Cooper as Eddie. Cooper's raspy speaking voice is perfect for the slimy tabloid reporter. As usual Mr. Cooper brings out his excellent tools of comedy for the role. His chemistry with Haram is right on the money as well. Cooper's singing is good, although he is a tad too soft in a couple of of his first numbers, and the effects from losing his voice earlier in the week are still there, but this does not stop him from giving it his all. Cooper possesses the strongest energy of the company. Haram and Cooper have one of the two best comedic numbers in the show, "Expose." With the aid of Director Allen, the number is hilarious both in choreography and from the performances of both actors. J. Mathew Butler's portrayal of the zombie rebel teen Jonny is top notch all the way. Butler possesses the best singing voice of the cast, hands down. His tenor vocals easily play off the riffs of the '50s doo-wop sound. Butler gives Jonny more of an "aw shucks" innocence, but it actually works quite well, giving Jonny more comedic bits that were not written in the book. Butler's finest vocal moments came in the ballad, "The Voice in the Ocean" and the hysterical "How Can I Say Good-bye?" Nikki L. Wensel is Toffee, the girl Jonny falls for. Alas, Ms. Wensel gives a somewhat lackluster performance. Her soprano voice, while pleasant, has no strong belt or vibrato. Her role is written to have the most songs, and some of them have big belt endings, but she never reaches those notes with full voice and commitment. She never connects with the pulse of her character or the beats of her comic lines. While at times she is charming, she just doesn't "sell it" as her counter-partner Butler does. As for the ensemble, they are full of energy and life. Michael Moore, Jacob Villarreal, and Ryan Ingrim each have their moments of comic gold spread throughout the evening. Ingrim is downright funny as the kid battling puberty. His cracking voice and "using his books to cover his umm ... " are great comic fodder. Moore and Villarreal shine as the two "motor wise" dancer/singers for Butler in the comedic number "How Can I Say Good-bye?". Moore and Villarreal are the strongest dancers in the cast. Take note that Villarreal also has quite a tenor singing voice; you can hear him at times in the company numbers. Jen Crenshaw, Erin McGrew, and Rebekah Fear are Wensel's high school buddies. All three gals wear weight defying wigs that are just a riot. McGrew and Crenshaw show more experience and polish in their performances than Ms. Fear. I don't know why, but Fear looks into the audience for no reason, as though looking for someone in the darkness, and this becomes distracting. McGrew's blonde big boobed bombshell with the addiction to baton twirling is particularly enjoyable. Crenshaw is delightful with a dark wig. These six ensemble members dance with energy and fun, and play off each other quite well and it carries out into the audience. While I find the book and score nowhere near Tony consideration, at least it's a new musical, and the director/choreographer, musical director, and cast have a blast with the material. GCT alone earns a major gold star for mounting a new musical for audiences to take a look at. Theatres just need to dig deeper into the history of musical theatre and pull out rarely produced musicals and give them a chance to be mounted and brought to life. So go grab a dead corsage off Carrie White and support a new musical titled Zombie Prom, being performed at Garland Civic Theatre. Zombie Prom is performed through October 28. Call 972-205-2790 for tickets and info. Zombie Prom CAST |
