SIDNEY — In February Parkland Secondary School’s Musical Theatre Program will become one of the first Canadian schools to present the musical Zombie Prom to local audiences.
“Zombie Prom is easily one of the zaniest musical comedies I’ve ever encountered and one of the most entertaining and challenging projects I’ve worked on as a teacher at the school,” said teacher Christine Irving.
The performance is a collaboration with choreographer and teacher Stacey Frith and musical director and teacher Cristina Sousa and features 52 performers from Grades 9 through 12.
The group has been in rehearsals for five months while a student crew of carpenters, painters and technicians led by instructor Ron Vague have also been hard at work behind the scenes constructing the set.
Zombie Prom is a boisterous romp set in the 1950s, documenting a slice of America’s atomic age.
The story follows a teenage girl named Toffee, played by Grade 11 student Johnna Van Deth, and her rebellious boyfriend, Jonny Warner, played by Grade 11 student Royce Manese.
The two meet at Enrico Fermi High School and fall in love, but the principal, Miss Delilah Strict, portrayed by Grade 12 student Nicola Hestnes, dislikes bad boys and gets Toffee’s parents involved to force a break up.
Tortured by the betrayal, Jonny drives his motorcycle to the nearby nuclear power plant and flings himself into a cooling tower. Alone and filled with guilt, Toffee mourns the loss of Jonny, until one day he returns, having risen from the dead as a teenage nuclear zombie.
He comes back because he still loves Toffee and wants to finish his education but Miss Strict refuses to allow zombies in her fine institution. She even threatens to cancel the senior prom if any of her students dare try to befriend him.
At the same time, word of this conflict reaches journalist Eddie Flagrante played by Grade 10 student Phoenix Beaudry.
The production runs Wednesday, Feb. 5 until Saturday, Feb. 8 in the Parkland Theatre at 7 p.m. (doors at 6:40 p.m.)
Tickets ($10) are available through the Parkland Secondary box office by calling 250-655-2736 or from the main office at the school at 10640 McDonald Park Rd.
— News staff with files from Parkland Secondary School