Reviewed by Jessica Salans
Zombie Joe’s Underground
Through September 26
Zombie Joe’s Underground’s trademark aesthetic for its close-quartered black box is dark, grotesque, provoking and sometimes maniacal and disgusting. Their players are also fiercely committed. The Red Moon is a new “vampire musical” by Ramon Sanchez, and the actors immerse themselves in the genre musical but are not strong enough to carry the quirky show, which is pared down by director Denise Devin to focus on the acting and vocal work.
Lauri (Nicole A. Craig) has a sister, Roxana (Lara Lihiya), who is a vampire. Roxana bites and invites Lauri’s crush, Anthony (Jason Britt), to join her world of blood sucking immortality. Convinced she can save her sister, Lauri employs the help of The Minister (Paul Carpenter) to perform an exorcism. The exorcism succeeds and the restored Roxana tries to convince Anthony to rejoin her as a mortal human. Anthony rebels and instead tried to convince Roxana to come back to him as a vampire. The two go back and forth until an unexpected ending finishes the story.
The music is catchy and the lyrics, fun; and while the play has moments of being over the top, a la The Rocky Horror Picture Show, it could afford to push its farce further.
Zombie Joe’s Underground; Fri.- Sat., 8:30 p.m.; through September 26; https://zombiejoes.com/; Running time 1 hour.
