The UTM Vanguard Theatre will be performing “Zombies from the Beyond” beginning today, October 27th, and going through October 30th.
The play is set in the 1950s, and takes a satirical stand on the worries and fears of aliens invading Earth that many people had in that time period.
Overall, the play was well performed, and it created a comical atmosphere. The intro to the play does a good job of informing the audience of the setting of the play and the overall scheme. The audience is immediately able to find themselves inside the space station along with the actors.
The play is accompanied by snappy theatrical music. The score features a variety of styles, from sopranic opera to tap dance music. It does a great job in integrating musical styles that were popular to that time.
The actors did an outstanding job in personifying their characters. They were well rehearsed and prepared with minimal mishaps throughout the play. All of them had great chemistry with each other, and looked like they had been practicing together for a long time. They were able to maintain maintained a comical characteristic about them that made fun of the acting in sci-fi movies from the 1950s. The tension between Trenton Corvett and Rick Jones trying to gain the liking of Major Malone’s daughter, Mary, can be funny at times, and Billy Krutzik, the deli delivery boy, creates a lot of comic relief in his attempts to gain the attention of Charlene. The female characters can be very funny as well. Whether its Charlene, the secretary, giving ample opportunity to laughs, or Zombina, the zombified leader letting loose her loud power, an Oprah-like soprano voice, in order to hypnotize the men of Earth.
The production team has done a marvelous job of creating visuals that stay true to the cheesy style and low budgets of old sci-fi movies. Kevin Shell’s costumes include colorful and fanciful outfits for the alien zombies and authentic-enough fifties fashions and uniforms. Shell also creates some great effects within the resources of the tiny space provided by the Vanguard theatre.
All things considered, “Zombies from the Beyond” is a fun show that will appreciated by everyone.
The Pacer’s Jake Peevyhouse contributed to this review.
