Adapted from George A. Romero’s seminal 1968 zombie film, Night of the Living Dead! The Musical! is an edgy and unique rock musical from Ghostlight Theatre Co., hilariously following a group clinging to safety – and each other – after a zombie apocalypse. Written and composed by Jodan Wolfe, an acclaimed New York-based creator and performer, the calibre of the material is immediately evident, with clever, catchy and well-crafted musical numbers and polished choreography working seamlessly with a tight, fast-flowing and comical book. EvilCorp Horror Maze provides the perfect, unorthodox venue to this singular and very entertaining show, creating a sense of immersion and slight claustrophobia, that both sets the scene and augments the show’s themes. I can also highly recommend a shot of “Demon Semen” on your way past the bar.
Director Yasmin Elahi is an impressive creative force, delivering bigtime here – with responsibility for direction, set, costumes, lighting, special effects – and everything in between. Excellent use is made of the compact space, creating interesting shapes and well executed scene changes, while sharp timing of lighting queues is also notable. Further, the live band is a wonderful addition, building atmosphere and exuding effortless cool under the helm of Musical Director William Pipe.
The talented young ensemble cast excel in all facets of their performances – singing, dancing, acting – and flesh-eating. All have impressive performance resumes already, with immense promise of more to come. Alexander Graves is well cast, especially as Ben – a ladies’ man with high self-esteem, with the calm confidence and charm to pull it off. As Barbara, Aimee Segal leans into the sixties send-up as well as any, sweetly naïve with just the right amount of extra. Graves and Segal have good chemistry together onstage and bring entertaining range and incongruity to the show – i.e., saccharinely sweet, whilst summoning Satan.
Erin Lowry is a standout, breezing charismatically through multiple roles with effortless versatility. In turn nasty and nice, Lowry handles her quick costume changes well and gets some of the heartiest laughs on opening night, especially during the News Broadcasts. Patrick ‘Az’ James is similarly eye-catching in his roles, bringing nuanced mannerism and precise delivery. His performance of ‘Dan the Science Man’ is particularly memorable, impeccably timed and rhymed.
Aden Lowry is engagingly likable, offering commanding presence and a knack for accents and impressions. I’m unsure whether Lowry deliberately modelled Harry’s voice off of James Stewart – but the likeness is striking. Meanwhile, Molly Parker’s hard-drinking Helen brings mischief and endearingly inebriated indifference to the plays higher-stakes situations. She really just needs The Juice. Helen feels somehow more modern than the show’s late 1960’s setting, although nothing is lost for this, where strict historical adherence is unrequired, and may even be intentionally ignored.
While the singing was very good overall – especially the group harmonies – there were a couple of audibility issues, flat notes, and moments where vocal levels were drowned out by the band – but these are forgivable opening-night bugbears, which will no doubt be resolved by the next performance. Overall, Night of the Living Dead! The Musical! is an extremely funny and high-standard show, serving comedic camp and spooky spoof, which was voraciously eaten up by an appreciative audience of the undead on opening night.
To book tickets to Night of the Living Dead! The Musical! , please visit https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1452872.
Photographer: Alan Burchill
