The conventions of musical theater insist that people sing when the intensity of their emotions render mere words insufficient. But what happens when the characters’ spoken vocabulary is confined to “Braaaaaiiiiinssss” in the first place? When and why do the undead sing? And, more to the point, how?
This paper will examine the logistical and musical hurdles inherent to the growing phenomenon of zombie-themed musicals. These include adaptations of iconic films like The Evil Dead, Shawn of the Dead and Re-Animator; spoofy retro pieces like Zombie Prom and Zombie Strippers; and, as of earlier this year, the first of these to reach Broadway. The breakout cult hit Be More Chill, which opened on Broadway in March 2019, devotes a major plot thread to the staging of a zombie-apocalypse-themed production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
How do the creators of these musicals address the challenge of giving emotional life to characters with what have been described as “lifeless lives”? What dramaturgical steps are required to create a framework where such a character is met with more than just snickers? What are the preferred keys for their songs? Just how many words rhyme with “brains”? This paper will draw from interviews by the likes of Joe Iconis (Be More Chill), Scott Miller (The Zombies of Penzance) and Greg Kotis (Urinetown) as well as from interpretations of such texts as The Year’s Work at the Zombie Research Center (eds. Comentale and Jaffe) and Better Off Dead: The Evolution of the Zombie as Posthuman (eds. Christie and Lauro).
About the presenterEric Grode
Eric Grode is the director of the Goldring Arts Journalism Program at Syracuse University. He has worked since 2005 as a freelance theater critic and reporter for The New York Times. His articles and reviews have also appeared in The Village Voice, New York magazine and The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of “Hair: The Story of the Show That Defined a Generation” and “The Book of Broadway: The Definitive Plays and Musicals.”