Zombie rules are pretty simple: 1- Don’t get bitten and 2- Shoot them in the head. But what’s the protocol when the undead standing before you is your loved one, the person you promised to cherish and care for till death do you part? Relationships are hard enough already – Being a zombie just makes things even harder.
This is the basis for Wild Claw Theatre’s latest venture The Revenants written by Scott T. Barsotti. The story revolves around Gary (Ryan Patrick Dolan) and Karen (Jenny Strubin) and their undead spouses Joe (Brian Amidei) and Molly (Laura Hooper). Gary and Karen’s dialogue focuses on their realization of their situation which flows from humor to anger to desperation as they began to understand that Joe and Molly are the same yet so very changed from the people they once knew.
While Joe and Molly don’t really have any speaking lines they are impossible to ignore on set. Their movements, sighs, and expressions as caged zombies are so intriguing that they command as much sometimes more attention than their living spouses. Director Anne Adams has somehow managed to make you very empathetic to the zombies as frightening and creepy as they seem you still feel a sense of sadness for them and their inability to understand their current state. The same can be said for their spouses left with the unbearable task of fight or flight, leaving me to wonder what would I do, how would I react to? I tell you I left the theater with every intention of making sure my spouse and I are in agreement, should we ever find ourselves in a zombie predicament.
This play has the perfect balance of humor (I will never sing the Mickey Mouse song correctly ever again), creepiness, emotional moments, and yes even some blood and gore. You can tell that each and every member of the crew was diligent in their thinking and preparation for the play. Everything from the set, to the sound composition, to the lighting, and even the costumes are put together in such a way that you feel as though you are really there in the basement living the hell of the situation with these characters.
I absolutely love that Wild Claw can put on a play that makes me sad, happy, and scared but also leaves me thinking and pondering the story and characters hours even days after the play is over. The Revenants is definitely a play worth seeing and the crew at Wild Claw Theatre definitely a group of people worth knowing!
WildClaw Theatre
very on the money! Nicely done hon!
Thanks for the great review! I am right there with ya on the Mickey Mouse song…and I think Brian and I need to have that 'in case of zombie apocalypse' relationship clause as well…good thinking!