2008 Woodie Awards
Zombies have feelings, too
By Sonya Harvey
Issue date: 10/5/07 Section: Premiere
Originally published: 10/11/07 at 3:23 PM CSTLast update: 10/11/07 at 3:22 PM CST
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In "Zombie Prom," now showing on the San Pedro Playhouse's main stage, the audience sees the great love and devotion zombies can develop for the living.
To pre-judge from its title, "Zombie Prom" might have been emulating "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," the campy, long-running cult musical, or maybe they're going after something simpler like a spoof of the '50s high school rock'n'roll classic "Little Shop of Horrors."
But in fact, this sharp and spiffy play is brighter and better crafted than both "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "Little Shop of Horrors" put together.
The setting is Enrico Fermi High School, named for the father of the atom bomb.
The cast of characters is like something out of Archie and Veronica comics: several students against the principal, Delilah Strict, and the editor of a scandal magazine, Eddie Flagrante.
These names are not meant to be funny but rather mocking what used to be funny in the 1950s.
Principal Strict, played by Anna Gangai, runs her school using the three R's: rules, regulations and respect.
But when a likable rebel, Jonny Walker, played by Michael J. Gonzalez, takes the "H" out of his Christian name, he offends the morality of Gangai and ruins any chance he has for happiness with Toffee, played by Kate Miller, his high school sweetheart.
Toffee (all the girls have sweet names), eventually gives in to parental and peer pressures and breaks up with Jonny, in a classic tale of bad-boy can't have good-girl.
Distraught with despair, Gonzalez crashes his motorcycle into a nearby nuclear plant, only to be transformed into a slightly rotting, neon green zombie set on reclaiming the love he lost.
Gangai, however, will stop at nothing to keep the two lovebirds apart and does a fantastic job playing the comic relief.
Overall, the play is a hilarious spoof on 1950s campy musicals, except everyone seems to forget about the "zombie" part.
It might leave one asking "where are all the blood and guts?"
"Where are all the random killings with pool cues and chainsaws a la George Romero?"
Just remember, it's not always just about eating flesh; "Zombie Prom" shows zombies have feelings, too.
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