Zombies, Stage Left

You’d think a play titled William Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead: A True and Accurate Account of the 1599 Zombie Plague could only be a campy romp on stage, but Vonalda Utterback of the Theater Company of Lafayette says the group is playing it straight. The action, which all takes...

By Susan Froyd

April 3, 2014

Audio By Carbonatix

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You’d think a play titled William Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead: A True and Accurate Account of the 1599 Zombie Plague could only be a campy romp on stage, but Vonalda Utterback of the Theater Company of Lafayette says the group is playing it straight. The action, which all takes place backstage at the Globe Theatre, is set amid a plague of another color, and it’s very straightforward, Utterback notes: “It’s very well-written, and the playwright did a great job of bringing out some really beautiful, poignant moments. And it’s great for Shakespeare lovers, too — there are all kinds of asides and inside jokes.” The Bard, along with ghost writer Francis Bacon, the clown Will Kemp and even the Queen of England, are all characters in this play, and that thing about the undead? Well, the play is a comedy, just not a campy one, and the denouement will keep you hanging to the very end. There are zombies, lots of them, and the big question: Who makes it out alive?

Help TCL celebrate Shakespeare’s 450th birthday in a way even the Bard himself might never have imagined: The show begins tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Mary Miller Theater, 300 East Simpson Street in Lafayette, and runs through April 26. For tickets, $10 to $16, visit tclzombie.brownpapertickets.com or call 800-838-3006, ext. 1.
Fridays, Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., April 13, 2 p.m.; Thu., April 24, 7:30 p.m. Starts: April 4. Continues through April 26, 2014

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Susan Froyd started writing for Westword as the "Thrills" editor in 1992 and never quite left the fold. These days she still freelances for the paper in addition to walking her dogs, enjoying cheap ethnic food and reading voraciously. Sometimes she writes poetry.

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