Victorian Players theater Two dramas get new life in zombie spoofs

By GUY D’ASTOLFO

dastolfo@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

A couple of familiar stories are about to get the “zom-com” treatment – as in zombie-comedy – at Victorian Players Theater.

“Zombeo and Juliet” and “Downton Zombie,” two one-act spoofs with obvious source material, comprise a Halloween-season twin bill that opens Friday. The Vic hopes to lure some zombies from the nearby B&O Station on Saturday, where the annual Youngstown Zombie Crawl festivities will be centered. The theater will have actors and an information table at the B&O that day. Whoever shows up at the theater in costume will get a $2 discount.

The zomedies are a departure for the Vic, which usually goes for straight terror this time of year. It’s part of the theater’s plan to reach out to new patrons this season.

Both “Zombeo” and “Downton” are family-friendly parodies.

Christopher Haddock is directing “Zombeo,” which he calls “cute but clever.” The play, written by Kathy Martin and Phil Nohl, easily accommodates local flavor, and Haddock obliged.

“It’s set in Youngstown after the zombie apocalypse,” he said. “Most of the action takes place in Southern Park Mall. The currency in this world is Orange Julius and salted pretzels, and the two security guards are the main authority figures.”

The zaniness is over the top; the gore, not so much.

The plot loosely parallels “Romeo and Juliet,” said Haddock.

“Romeo is a Montgomery, and Juliet is a DeCapitate,” he said, a take-off on Shakespeare’s Montague and DeCapulet families.

“The DeCapitates are zombie hunters,” said Haddock. “It’s an ill-fated love because Romeo becomes a zombie.”

The second-half of the Victorian’s twin bill takes a whack at “Downton Abbey,” the hit PBS drama about an upper-crust family.

Gerri Jenkins directs “Downton Zombie,” which was written by Wade Blanchard.

“It’s loosely based on the ‘Downton Abbey’ premise,” said Jenkins. “It starts with a conversation between a maid and Lady Brampton. The zombie characters start to show up when a new maid arrives and she is obviously a zombie. Lord Brampton insists she be hired even though she is obviously no long among us. Then she creates another zombie, and another ...”

Jenkins said even those who know nothing about “Downton Abbey” will not be at a loss.

“When I cast the show, actors asked me, ‘Do I need to watch the show?’ and I said, ‘Nope,’” she said. “It makes maybe one reference to ‘Downton Abbey.’ It’s set in an upper-class mansion, but that’s about where the similarities end.”

The cast of “Zombeo and Juliet” features Victorian veterans Stephen Kountz as Romeo and Brandi Hughes as Juliet. Rounding out the cast are Anthony and Laura Zarconi, Trudy Mason, Jason Bellis, Marisa Keshock, Ameena and Zach Agrow, Brendan Gilmartin. Josh Ford, Heather McKenzie, Thomas Cutlip, Lindie Schwarten, Zon Green and Melissa Ramsey.

“Downton Zombie” features Mason as the dowager countess, and Gilmartin and Schwarten as Lord and Lady Brampton. The rest of the cast includes Hughes, Kountz, Anthony and Laura Zarconi, Keshock, Ameena Agrow, Cutlip and McKenzie.