Zombie Puppets Return for Wonderbound's Tenth Anniversary, First Show in Paid-Off Space

Wonderbound is celebrating a decade of high-octane contemporary ballet performances by bringing back a fan favorite: Wicked Bayou. The macabre collaboration incorporates eerie melodies from Boulder band the Widow's Bane as well as ideas from the company's artistic director, Garrett Ammon, and Widow's Bane frontman Clay Rose. It centers on two young lovers who struggle to survive in a bayou while fending off hungry alligators, zombie puppets, a bruja and a malicious puppeteer.

The production, set to be one of the Widow’s Bane’s final performances, is a testament to Wonderbound's commitment to push artistic boundaries. Born from an unexpected encounter between Ammon and Rose, Wicked Bayou delves into a world where myth and reality collide.

"We met Clay while having brunch at Ophelia's," Ammon recalls. "My wife, Dawn, knew he was playing and arranged for us to go out to see him without telling me, because she thought Clay would be a good person to work with. In the first meeting we had together, Clay brought forward two different possibilities of narratives that could work for collaboration. The first was The Sandman, and the other was Wicked Bayou, inspired by the story inside his song 'Old Bayou.' After discussing the different possibilities, we both felt Wicked Bayou would be the appropriate first project to take on. We developed the show together, and we pulled in different narratives from different songs by the Widow's Bane to flesh out the story."

Although the piece begins with two young lovers playing in the bayou, their love affair takes a dark turn when they realize they are being haunted by supernatural forces far more powerful than themselves.

"Both of them come from families that have a long lineage in the area," Ammon says. "Even though the kids have been warned about the folklore from their families, it's not until they're confronted with it directly that they really believe it. Wicked Bayou ventures into weird territory. There is a mad puppeteer and an alligator who feeds on children, which is pretty dark and disturbing stuff.

"When I describe it to people, sometimes they kind of look at me in horror, but it really is quite entertaining," he continues. "Sure, you have to suspend your disbelief, but that is the beauty of myth and folklore: Stories allow us to access truths through these highly metaphorical adventures." Along with the seasonal spooks, dance enthusiasts will enjoy the story's modern exploration of tradition by thirteen company dance artists. Morgan Sicklick, a dancer with Wonderbound since 2015 who portrays the devious alligator, offers insight into the unique approach: "In a lot of classical dance companies, you're learning work that's already been created years ago," she says. "Sometimes hundreds of years ago, and that's wonderful, but I was also excited to have the opportunity to be a real collaborator in the room."

On and off the stage, the company relies on the fierce husband-and-wife team of Ammon and Dawn Fay, Wonderbound's president. "The way I put it to a lot of people is that Garrett creates the art and I pay for it," Fay says. "My number-one priority is making sure the organization is funded. That ranges from writing grants to organizing the board of directors and finding new ways to fund Wonderbound. It’s been an immense relief to not be building our space anymore, because I was project-managing in addition to all my responsibilities."

Wonderbound moved into and renovated its current space at 3824 Dahlia Street in 2020; before that, the company bounced between various venues. In 2018, Wonderbound moved into a previous AT&T Call Center on 40th Avenue, near York Street. Fay worked with a couple donors on a soft capital campaign to develop that site; however, in November 2020, the building was so badly vandalized that staying in it no longer seemed feasible.

"Once we realized would have to completely remodel the building, we knew we had to move," Fay recalls. "We had a show in December, so Garrett and I got on the internet to start looking for warehouses to rent."

The Dahlia Street location "was the last one we looked at, and it just worked," Fay continues. "We thought we were just going to lease it, but as we're moving in there, we were told other people were looking to buy it when our lease was up. At that point, COVID was still happening and we couldn’t go back to other building. I knew we couldn’t keep moving around and putting our community through this fragility, so I contacted our board chair and then met with our executive committee board, and I just said, 'We've got to buy this.'"

In February 2021, they raised enough money to place a down payment on the building. As the company finished its 2021-22 season in the space with cabaret tables and social distancing, the leadership team conjured plans with Semple Brown's Chris Wineman to transform the venue into Wonderbound's dream space.

While the renovations took place, the company moved to a location on Grape Street in June last year. "We moved back in March 2023 and opened the theater at the beginning of May with The Sandman," Fay says. "They did this whole thing in nine months. They put in walls, all new plumbing, electrical, HVAC and everything."

And better things would come: The capital campaign that afforded Wonderbound the down payment only grew, allowing the company to purchase the building. "I was constantly raising money, nonstop, 24/7," Fay recalls. "Recently, Mary and Jerry Kern came forward and said, 'We want to close you out,' and I just about fell down."

Dr. Mary Rossick Kern and Jerome H. Kern announced on September 12 that they would be closing out the remaining $1.6 million of Wonderbound’s $8.1 million capital campaign. The Kerns have a lengthy history of charitable contributions and involvement in Colorado nonprofits, including the Colorado Symphony and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

“Wonderbound is vital to Denver's diverse cultural scene, and we admire Dawn and Garrett's incredible vision," says Jerry Kern. "We thought it would be a fitting way to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.”
In recognition of the Kerns' contribution to the company, Wonderbound's new facility will be named the Mary Rossick Kern and Jerome H. Kern Center for the Arts. "This is transformative," Fay says. "Through their incredible generosity, the Kerns have assured Wonderbound's financial and artistic stability. We are truly humbled by their belief in our work. It is an amazing launch of our tenth anniversary season."

And Wicked Bayou was a show the company knew it wanted to reproduce. This will be Wonderbound's third staging of the play, which originally premiered in 2018 and was remounted in 2020 with strict COVID precautions at the PACE Center.  "When we opened this new space, we wanted to get Wicked Bayou back in front of an audience, because people really do love the show, and Halloween is the perfect time for a spooky show," Ammon says. "It's also a great way to kick off our tenth anniversary."

Wicked Bayou, with its nods to Cajun myths and the ominous polka of the Widow’s Bane, dares audiences to confront the dark corners of their imagination. In a world inundated with sensationalized horror, Wonderbound offers something different. It's not about gore or shock value; it's about the implied, the subtle and the emotional.

"If there's anybody who's thought about coming to a show but they never have, this is a good one to jump into, because it’s about embracing all those scary aspects of existence," Ammon says. "It's not scary in the way some newer horror movies are — you're not going to see like, children get ripped apart on stage. It's all implied, but it still creates this stirring emotional effect, and that is the beauty of theater. It is such an utter pleasure to be doing our second show post-pandemic with live music, and the Widow's Bane is incredible as well. We've definitely encouraged people to show up in their Halloween costumes to add a little extra fun to it. Part of the joy of this season is reveling in the dark side of existence."

Wicked Bayou runs Thursday, October 19, through Sunday, October 29, Wonderbound, 3824 Dahlia Street. Get tickets at wonderbound.com.