Zombies From The Beyond
Zombies From The Beyond
By James Valcq
Directed by Jay Hopkins
Musical Direction by Jim Rhinehart
Starring Kate O’Neil, Todd Allen Long, David Almeida, Mellissa Mason
Jester Theatre Company at The Garden Theater, Winter Garden, FL</strong>
Milwaukee. I can’t believe I’m back in Milwaukee. Like a bad flashback we’re in 1955 and crisis grips the heart of the Milwaukee Space Center (Just off Mitchell Street, right down there where the streetcar bends the corner around). The Probe 7 team suffers from the usual interoffice romantic politics – Captain Jones (Almeida) and newcomer Trent Corbett (Todd Allen Long) spar over Major Malone’s (Rod Cathey) nubile daughter Mary (Elizabeth Takacs) while frustrated Charlene (Mason) debates whether her bio-clock is ticking loud enough to warrant a date with tap-dancing delivery boy Billy (Corey Matos). The Probe 7 team sets out to launch a camera to photograph the sun, but their sexual battle shifts into high gear when they discover a UFO full of horny undocumented alien zombie she-devils. We all know what THAT means – time for ray guns and tap dancing!
“Zombies From The Beyond” pushes the boundaries of corny camp, although the Zombie purist may object to the lack of shuffle-footed brain munching. The dialog is painfully stilted, and author James Valcq left no page of his science thesaurus unused. Almeida as evil Captain Jones danced fluidly in “Big Wig”, but the show stealer was Billy and his “Atomic Feet” tap routine. O’Neil’s Zombina had a cartoony sex appeal, even if you had trouble hearing the words in her operatic “The Last Man On Earth” and “Breaking The Sound Barrier.” The sexiest women on stage was Charlene – while she never ditches the pink Edith Prickly eye glasses or lets her hair down, the sexually aggressive and unfulfilled secretary is always the hottest role in any sci fi show.
Jester did an excellent job of recreating the Milwaukee skyline – both the Allen Bradley clock and the Wisconsin Gas building looked just like I remembered them, and while a nod to Schuster’s or Kopp’s Custard Stand would have been nice, it’s good to see that the arts community is still up to kicking old Beer Town around. The underlying paradigm of immanent absorption and annihilation by the Commies Pod People had passed out of our collective conscience, and I’m happy to report that “Zombies From The Beyond” avoids the temptation of replacing it with eco-fear or Palin jokes. Jester did what it does best – family friendly goofy comedy that entertains with out lecture and makes you laugh at the groaners as well as the actually funny stuff.
For more information on Jester Theater Company, please visit http://www.jestertheater.com
For a complete listing of events at The Garden Theatre in Winter garden, please visit http://wgtheater.org</em>
