ZOMBIE PROM

Area Premiere
Named Outstanding Musical of 2007 (small theater) by the Minneapolis Star Tribune!

March 2 – 25, 2007 – Hennepin Stages
Music  – Dana P. Rowe
Book and Lyrics – John Dempsey

Mix together the best of “Little Shop of Horrors“, “Grease” and “Bat Boy“, and you get Zombie Prom, the new Off-Broadway musical that has audiences rolling in the aisles.  Set in the nuclear 1950s, it’s just another day for the students at Enrico Fermi High until Jonny Warner, distraught after being rejected by his sweetheart Toffee, hurls himself into the local nuclear reactor.  But when Jonny reappears as a nuclear zombie, the tyrannical principal Miss Strict threatens to cancel the prom rather than let him back into the school.  A tragic tale of terror that will have you singing!

“Director Steven Meerdink fearlessly lets loose with a production that shamelessly borrows both from its better-known peers and from contemporary zeitgeist.  Kim Kivens plays her role to the hilt, endowing Miss Strict with an evil astigmatism and the personality of a Stepford Wife who hasn’t had her bran. Shaun Nathan Baer deadpans — perhaps un-dead-pans is a better word — his way through the role of Jonny.  For her part, Emily Brooke Hansen — in full flutter and blush — plays Toffee sweet and feisty but a little dim, a just-right concoction backed up — as is Baer’s performance — with a solid set of vocal chords.  Catherine Battocletti’s choreography pokes fun at everything from “West Side Story” to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video. Kevin Hansen’s handling of a five-piece, synthesizer-heavy band helps the show jump when it should and croon when it must.”  – St. Paul Pioneer Press

“The Minneapolis Music Theatre plays to its strengths with the area premiere of “Zombie Prom,” a campfest that satirizes the 1950s. It does “Grease” one better, by adding a horror element: A suicidal teenager throws himself into a nuclear reactor and becomes a zombie — which creates havoc at school.  Steven J. Meerdink’s direction successfully walks the fine line between spoof and sincerity.  Shaun Nathan Baer is endearing as the zombie, once again displaying a powerful set of pipes that are up to all the score’s demands. Emily Brooke Hansen, as his girlfriend, is every bit his equal. Kim Kivens steals the show as the maniacal Miss Strict, the archetypal evil principal.”  –  Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Shaun Nathan Baer makes a great Jonny, both as teen and green rebel … his voice is excellent throughout. Emily Brooke Hansen brings the right innocent tone to Toffee, which gives her character a chance to grow a bit through the show. The balance of the cast is solid as well, especially Kim Kivens’ terrific turn as Miss Strict and Thomas Karki’s slightly sleazy reporter, Eddie Flagrante.  Director Steven Meerdink and music director Kevin Hansen deal with the material with a light hand, accenting the goofy vibe at every turn.”  –  talkinbroadway.com

This production sponsored, in part, by Theatrical Costume Company.