Indy Theatre Habit

On Saturday night I drove southeast of Indy to Franklin to see Our Town Players’ production of “Zombie Prom.”  It was directed by Brandi Payton and produced by Kathy Stokes, with musical direction by Larry Bonebright.

If you have ever hung out with theatre people for even half an hour, you know that they all have fascinating stories about the hair-raising adventures that are part and parcel of presenting live entertainment.  Most of the stories end with a shrug and “But, the show must go on!”

Some day, in fact, I would like to host a story swap, maybe even a storytelling contest, whose theme is “The week before we opened…”

Even though I love hearing those stories, and often sympathize, I don’t care about them after I have bought my ticket and am sitting in the audience.  The show in front of me, as presented on the night I am there, is what I care most about, and what I use to write my review.  What I want to know (and what I assume you want to know, too) is: excuses aside, is there anything to appreciate about the show as a piece of art?

Saturday night was different.  On Saturday night I felt more willing than usual to forgive imperfections. I felt more willing to “go the extra mile” as an audience member in terms of opening my ears and my imagination in order to enjoy the show.  I felt this way because by the time Saturday night arrived, the cast and crew of “Zombie Prom” had experienced enough disasters to win any storytelling contest. 

The first and biggest disaster was the flooding that had crippled many parts of Franklin earlier in the summer and which had caused the Our Town Players (OTP) to lose their regular theatre space to government offices in need of temporary housing.

Fortunately, St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church agreed to let the OTP use their multi-purpose room for the run of “Zombie Prom.”  It is a challenging space in which to do theatre, especially in terms of acoustics, but no one in the cast or crew is complaining.  In fact, several of the cast and crew after the show on Saturday night made a point of telling me how grateful they are to the church.  The officials at the local high school had wanted thousands of dollars to use its auditorium.

So… the OTP had a place for “Zombie Prom,” but then (according to director Brandi Payton’s curtain talk), they lost their choreographer.  And then (I learned from a cast member at intermission) an hour before show time on Saturday night, one of the three musicians bailed. 

And THEN, in the middle of the show Saturday night, just as the rebel hottie (Jeremy Carnes) was coming back from the nuclear waste dump as a zombie, it started to thunder and pour down rain again outside.  The pounding on the roof added to the creepiness of the zombie’s love song, of course, but it also made it even more difficult to hear. 

I learned later that water was flowing in at the back of the building again, too, but the church staff told the theatre staff, “Don’t you worry about this!  Go do your show!”  And they did.  With full enthusiasm.

So you know what?  Saturday night wasn’t a perfect theatre experience, but what I kept thinking as everyone sang and danced to the best of their abilities in spite of everything was, “This show has HEART.” 

But even if you don’t care about that, it’s a funny show.

Also, the two leads have strong, beautiful voices.  Rebecca Devries-McConnell is Toffee, a good girl who falls in love with a bad boy, the rebel without an “h” Jonny Warner (Jeremy Carnes.)  Actually they both fall in love, and when Toffee breaks up with Jonny because that is what her parents (Phyllis Munroe and Troy Lawson, silhouetted larger-than-life behind scrims) tell her to do, Jonny kills himself and falls into the nuclear waste of the power plant.  I admired Devries-McConnell’s ability to belt all night without ever losing her character’s sweetness and innocence.  Carnes is a cutie even under the zombie gore.

Toffee has three girlfriends:  Candy (Nicole Mann), Coco (Jessica Trosper), and Ginger (Ninah Clegg) who all sing and dance in a fun way.  I especially enjoyed the scene in which they are all talking to each other on movie star telephones.

There are also three back-up guys.  Jake (Mark Miller) wears his hair slicked back and walks like a rebel himself (but he jumps into line when the principal blows her whistle!)  Joey (Ben Jones) is very clean-cut and all-American (but watch carefully during the prom scene as he adds a little something to the punch bowl!)  Josh (Eliot Munro) is a hoot as the ultimate nerd, with Alfalfa hair, taped glasses, flood pants, and pelvis-first posture.

At one point, Miller and Jones are joined by Ian Drake to become the Motorwise Gasoline Guys singing with femme fatale Ramona Meringue (Emily Barnett) on a talk show.  Elizabeth Jones plays the Announcer of the show, with Phyllis Munroe as the Stage Manager.  This scene is also a hoot.

Phyllis Munroe is the real stage manager of “Zombie Prom,” too.   Nick Drake is the sound board operator.  Kathy Stokes is the light board operator.

The choreography, while simple, is winsome and executed with spirit.  (Choreography by Brandi Payton, Rebecca Devries-McConnell, Ben Jones, Debbie Jones, and Mike Jones.)

The setting is a 1950s-like high school near a nuclear power plant.  It is a simple set, but several details delighted me.  There are lockers and a principal’s desk with a globe and an authentic-looking “announcements” microphone.  At stage right is a science lab in which an experiment bubbles lavishly out of its test tube.  At stage left is an area that becomes the office of Expose Magazine.  The desk of reporter Eddie Flagrante (Mike Jones) has a wonderful, old-fashioned, manual typewriter.   Later, at the prom, the punch bowl rests on a can of nuclear waste.  (Set design by Tom Beasley.  Furniture construction by Tom Beasley and Dennis Norman.  Props by Brandi Payton, Kathy Stokes, and Debbie Jones.)

The headmistress of the school is the militaristic Miss Delilah Strict (Debbie Jones.)  Sometimes she even wears a helmet as she blows her whistle and rants about “Rules, responsibilties, and respect.”  The girls all wear real felt circle skirts over their bobby socks and saddle shoes or Keds.  The Motorwise Gasoline guys wear marvelous blue garage jumpsuits.  Later in the play, everyone wears lovely, long prom gowns and suits.  (Costumes by Brandi Payton, Kathy Stokes, Rebecca Devries-McConnell, and Chris McFatridge.)

The musicians are behind a partition off to the side so that they and the singers can hear each other better.  I was surprised to learn that there were only two musicians: Patti Walker on percussion and musical director Larry Bonebright playing…everything else.  The instrumental music is rich and full, but not overpowering.  I think it was sometimes hard for the singers and the musicians to hear each other, but I learned after the show that placing the partition panels around the musicians had helped.

There was one artistic choice that I think I would have questioned even if the show had been in its original venue.  I enjoyed the unexpected chemistry between Miss Strict (Debbie Jones) and Eddie Flagrante (Mike Jones), so I found myself wishing that they had started dancing earlier in their duet, “At the Dance,” instead of just standing and singing to each other for so long.  However, maybe in a more acoustically kind venue, I wouldn’t have minded just listening for a while.

If you go to see “Zombie Prom,” not only will you be supporting a theatre company who has had more than its share of setbacks, but $2 of your $12 ticket will be donated to the Red Cross.

If you go, sit near the middle and close to the front.  You still may not be able to hear some of the spoken dialogue, but don’t worry: the show is mostly songs anyway, and the lyrics are hilarious.  (Book and lyrics by John Dempsey.  Music by Dana P. Rowe.  Based on a story by Mr. Dempsey and Hugh M. Murphy.)

Also, dress lightly but bring a sweater and again, don’t worry:  when you first sit down, you will think the air conditioning is not working and you will begin to strip in a panic, but the heat is only from the theatre lights on the pole behind you.  When those go off and the show begins, the room feels immediately cooler.  The lights come up hot again only occasionally.  I put my sweater back on at intermission and felt comfortable.

There were several other theatre people in the audience Saturday night.  Encore judge Bobbi Bates was there, accompanied by Eric Karwisch.  It was fun to be able to tell them in person how much I had enjoyed their recent work in “Victor Victoria” at the American Cabaret Theatre. I was sad to hear that Karwisch would not have a show in the Indy Fringe Festival this year.  Maybe next year.

Director Joe Cook and costumer Bradley Jones were there, too.  I gave Cook my card to remind him to send me a reminder about their forthcoming production of “Romeo and Juliet” at Garfield Park.  It was exciting to hear a little about his hopes and dreams for developing a professional Shakespeare company there.

And I finally got to meet Encore president Rich Baker in person!  He will be an Encore judge as well as an officer next year.  I am looking forward to working with him.

Our Town Players’ production of “Zombie Prom” continues at St. Rose of Lima in Franklin through next weekend, closing on Sunday afternoon, July 20.  Please consult the OTP website for directions and/or call 317-371-1694 for more information and to make a reservation.

Note: I am still working on my post about my tour of the new Spotlight Players facility in Beech Grove.

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com