MHS Drama Club is back with Zombie Prom

By Trevor Eichler
Posted 3/10/22

After a two year hiatus, the Marlboro High School (MHS) Drama Club is back, with new directors and young performers eager to get back on stage. The MHS Drama crew set their sights on a lively and …

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MHS Drama Club is back with Zombie Prom

Posted

After a two year hiatus, the Marlboro High School (MHS) Drama Club is back, with new directors and young performers eager to get back on stage. The MHS Drama crew set their sights on a lively and upbeat spring musical called “Zombie Prom.” This off-Broadway rock and roll show takes place in the atomic 1950’s, and follows “not so typical” high school students entangled in a ghoulish love story.

Rough and tough bad-boy Jonny Warner, played by Junior Seamus Daly, is the new student at Enrico Fermi High School and quickly falls in love with a beauty school dropout named Toffi, played by Sophomore Abigail Douglass. The hardnose High School principal, played by Leilanis Sanchez, appropriately named Ms. Strict does not approve of the relationship between the two, and sees Jonny’s bad-boy attitude as a problem for her regimented school. Weeks before the anticipated high school prom, Jonny drives his car off a cliff into a nuclear waste dump in an apparent suicide attempt. Widowed girlfriend Toffi is devastated, and cries for weeks over her deceased boyfriend. Her cries of sorrow somehow reach the afterlife, and Jonny Warner is risen from the grave as a zombie, who wants to return to school as a normal student. Jonny and Toffi are reunited, but Ms. Strict remains strict. Opportunistic journalist Eddie Flagrante, played by Sophomore Zachary Moran, is looking for a story, and finds one when he hears of a zombie student being denied from attending high school. His goal is to reveal the truth, and help out Jonny, with Ms. Strict as their obstacle. With a surprising twist at the end, the audience is sure to be captivated all the way through, tapping their foot to the music.

“It’s basically if Grease met Footloose met Stranger Things,” said directors Kathy Muenz and John Marro.
The MHS Drama Club is thriving with three new faces leading the way. Director and Choreographer Kathy Muenz, Technical Director John Marro, and Music Director Laurie Woolever.

Kathy Muez was a Broadway performer for years, and after a while she decided to take her theater expertise to the classroom. She got her masters degree in education, and is certified as a theater and dance teacher. John Marro, a product of the MHS drama club himself, said he is back where he belongs. Laurie Woolever gained her chops as a vocal coach for years, and has worked with several productions over that time.

“It’s such a unique pleasure being back here, on the other side of things. Directing instead of performing. Being involved with this show really affirmed to me the importance of having the arts involved in schools,” said Technical Director Marro.

Coming up with an idea for a spring musical after two unpredictable years was no easy task. Kathy Muenz suggested the show to her co-directors after her husband was in an off-broadway performance of “Zombie Prom.” They loved the idea, and ran with it.

“It’s just fun. The songs are catchy, and the whole show is full of comedy, satire, and is in no way to be taken seriously at all. It’s kind of a breath of fresh air for these students who have taken things so seriously recently, and they haven’t had this artistic outlet for more than two years, thanks to the pandemic.” said Muenz and Marro.

Junior Seamus Daly is glad to be back performing with his friends after what seemed like forever.

“It’s nice having the comfort of being back with the drama club. My freshman year our show got canceled due to the pandemic, and we’ve all kind of gone dormant since then. We are all so glad to be back doing what we love.”

Sophomores Zachary Moran, and Abigail Douglass each said “there’s never a dull moment in the show. It’s fun playing a character, especially when they’re nothing like yourself.”

All students in the drama club are involved with the production of the show in one way or another. Whether it be building or painting the set, hooking up microphones, or dealing with ticket sales, all students are responsible for putting on the show, which is a unique characteristic of theater groups according to Muenz.

“Anywhere else you go, the crew and the cast are separate entities and they work in their own time. It’s nice to see the community of everyone working together to make something amazing in the end.”

Senior Leilanis Sanchez said “I’ve loved the opportunities that the drama club has given me. There’s so many elements to it, and there’s a place for everyone.”

Show dates are March 10, 11, and 12, and all performances start at 7 p.m. in the Marlboro High School auditorium. Tickets are $12 for adults and $9 for children, students, and seniors at the door.