The spread of fairy tale themed and zombie-filled story lines have saturated the market over the last few years. We have The Walking Dead, Snow White and the Huntsman, Grimm, Once Upon a Time, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and now, Snow White Zombie: Apocalypse, premiering at the 2012 New York Fringe Festival.

If you haven’t seen it, go, and hurry as if the end is truly coming. Every moment of Brenton Lengel’s play proves worth it. Produced by State of Play Productions, this 90-minute show starts out with Little Red Riding Hood, who soon gets taken by the Big Bad Wolf, who turns her into a zombie. Cue Prince Charming, played by Adam La Faci, and his lady fair, Rapunzel, played by Parker Leventer. Both are there to kick some living dead ass. They do this well, though much credit goes fight choreographer Lisa Kopitsky and her assistant Adam Alexander.  Without these two the action scenes – and the characters in them – would have fallen flat.

Eventually, the team of fairy tale crusaders comes across a woman in the woods. “She’s dead, look at her skin, it’s as white as snow,” says a disgusted Rapunzel, after Charming kisses the corpse. But wait! Spoiler: it’s not a dead body; it’s Snow White, played by Lucia Brizzi, who now claims Charming as her own. The two women couldn’t be more different. Rapunzel is strong, bitter, and brave; and Snow White is weak, fluttery, and optimistic. The latter could have been annoying; instead, with great comedic timing the personalities balance perfectly.

Another plot line I enjoyed was Prince Charming; apparently, he actually is the same prince that gets all the fairy tale princesses. This isn’t his fault, he finds, when faced with Prince Dashing, played by David Marshall. Since Dashing is also a ladies’ man, Charming learns that wooing women is both their special power. Dashing uses his gift to steal Rapunzel and Snow White, Charming uses his to seduce a man-eating female bear, played by Simon Feil, who also did a stellar job as the Woodsman.

Each character touches on aspects of their actual fairy tale counterparts. Rapunzel talks about how she lost her hair and twins, Hansel and Gretel make an appearance, iron really does kill fairies, and Snow White is petrified of apples. They make references to just about every fair tale, even ones that aren’t in Grimm like The Princess Bride. No matter what their part, everyone in the cast had me completely entertained for over an hour. I also had no idea how it would end. Let’s just say it surprised me, but I won’t tell. So, go see it already, just make sure to wear your zombie-proof coat.

~~~

Snow White Zombie: Apocalypse
State of Play
Writer: Brenton Lengel
Director: Jessica Creane
Snow White awakens to true love’s kiss 28 days after the zombie apocalypse. Now she must end the plague with Prince Charming — and his axe-wielding lover Rapunzel. Blood, sex, kung fu, gender politics…fairy tales as usual.
1h 40m   Local   Manhattan, New York
Drama   Comedy
Staycation: Fantasy Island Excursion   Sci-Fi Tech SuperHero Camp
www.stateofplaytheatre.com/shows/current-show-snow-white-zombie/
VENUE #01: The Living Theatre
Sat 11 @ 10  Wed 15 @ 2  Sun 19 @ 3:45  Fri 24 @ 5:30  Sat 25 @ 9

Related Posts:

• Bite The Apple – To Bite Or Not To Bite? (Fringe Festival 2012)
• #mormoninchief’s Boring Campaign (Fringe Festival 2012)
• Final Schedule Announced for Fringe Encore Series
• Pink Milk (Fringe Festival 2012)
• Pulp Shakespeare – The Bard Would Be Proud (Fringe Festival 2012)

I am all for the fairy tale fun we have been having in the last couple of years. There has been a melody of interesting takes on Snow White, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, the Wicked Witch, and so on, both on the screen and in literature. So, why not a play about six of Grimm’s hottest heroines?

Only, in Bite The Apple by Linda Manning, the princesses and damsels are in a different type of distress—middle age. Cinderella, played by Diana Henry, has the great shoes but her Prince Charming has deserted her out of boredom. Red, played by Amy Young, is a gutter punk no longer getting pursued by the wolf, but chasing him instead. Snow White, played by Annette Arnold, remains a child trapped in a 40-year-old body, so afraid of everything, that she abandons her kids. Manning’s own character Rapunzel, has gone completely crazy without her prince or her twins, and has locked herself in a tower of her own making. Finally, Gretel, played by Diana Zambrotta, is still sweet, but now alone since Hansel died. While all these ideas sound like a story, the actual production left me feeling, well, nothing.

At first, it had mystery as Red and Cinderella seemed like older versions of their younger counterparts. They weren’t happy, but neither had they digressed beyond the basic character. Things had fallen apart and their happy ending wasn’t working out the way they had hoped. Once we moved on to Briar Rose, commonly referred to as Sleeping Beauty, things got a little off. Why was she so unhappy in the castle? How did she fall asleep under the tree? We never find out. As for Rapunzel, I had to look back into the program to figure out who she was. The only sign given was the desert setting, but even that fell flat. The circumstances that made her go off her rocker were never made clear, but we do know she managed to pull out of the sandy spot in her head long enough to talk to Gretel.  As for that character, I didn’t see the growth or story, save for her rescuing her brother.

For the amount of time the play had, there was a lot that could have been done. Instead, I often felt uncomfortable in my seat watching these women deteriorate, which, could be what Manning had in mind. Still, what I experienced was more out of restlessness than emotion. It’s not that I seek the happily ever after, more, I didn’t buy the stories strewed before me. Save for Cinderella and Red, the rest of the play went nowhere.

~~~
Bite the Apple
The Other Mirror
Writer: Linda Manning
Director: Katherine M. Carter
Cinderella is a past-her-prime trophy wife, Red Ridinghood lurks outside bars waiting for the wolf, and Snow White wants to kill her kids. Your favorite fairytale princesses are clearly beyond their “happily ever after,” which path do they take from here?
1h 30m   Local   Manhattan, New York
Drama   Comedy
Staycation: Literary Lane   In Someone Else’s Shoes
www.theothermirrortheatre.com
VENUE #14: New Ohio Theatre
Sat 11 @ 9  Sun 12 @ 12  Tue 14 @ 3  Thu 16 @ 4:15  Sat 18 @ 8

Related Posts:

• Snow White Zombie: Apocalypse – The End Is Nigh In Fairy Tale Land (Fringe Festival 2012)
• Final Schedule Announced for Fringe Encore Series
• #mormoninchief’s Boring Campaign (Fringe Festival 2012)
• Songs Of Love: A Theatrical Mixtape (Fringe Festival 2012)
• Contrasts (Fringe Festival 2012)

Occasionally an idea comes around that makes you think, how was this never done before? With Pulp Shakespeare, directed by Jordan Monsell, I had such a moment, and yes, it’s exactly what you are thinking; the 1994 movie Pulp Fiction done in the manner of William Shakespeare.

Now, this could have gone wrong, but I am pleased to report that between the smooth directing skills, the flawless cast, and a darn good script, Pulp Shakespeare was hilariously engaging, and made me want to revisit the movie.  It started just as I remembered it, with the couple in the diner. But instead of modern day profanity, they spewed words that I barely knew the meaning of, but were perfect for the Elizabethan era.

After the first scene, we come to the main characters, who you may remember, are Julius Winfield and Vincent de la Vega, respectively played by Dan White and Aaron Lyons. Both channeled their movie counterparts beautifully (Samuel Jackson and John Travolta), and if we were actually in England in the late 1500s, they would have been terrifying. As it was, the whole play turned into a comedy, as iconic scenes from the movie unfolded with campy fodder for the actors, all of whom played their roles well. Aside from White and Lyons, another performer who really stood out was Christian Levatino, who played the Butcher. At times, you could actually see Bruce Willis in his performance as he madly stalked around the stage. And yes, he totally quoted, “Zed is dead,” and the audience erupted in cheers, laughter, and applause.

Pulp Shakespeare ran for about an hour and a half, meaning they cut some of the scenes from the movie. However, nothing was missed. We still had the part where Vincent dances with Mia Wallace, played by Hannah Beck, in the club, and the pair mix their modern dance moves with some classic Elizabethan ones. There is plenty of violence too, but instead of guns, they have broad swords and daggers. Even without props, props to the fantastic cast and crew for producing a one-of-a-kind performance.

~~~

Pulp Shakespeare
Her Majesty’s Secret Players
Writer: Ben Tallen, Aaron Greer, Brian Watson-Jones, and Jordan Monsell
Director: Jordan Monsell
What if William Shakespeare had written Pulp Fiction? This wildly entertaining parody pays homage to the films witty dialogue and colorful characters, while staying firmly grounded in the language and rhetoric of Shakespeare’s time.
1h 30m   National   Los Angeles, California
Comedy   Drama
Staycation: Literary Lane   Fantasy Island Excursion
www.pulpshakespeare.com
VENUE #12: Cherry Lane Theatre
Sun 12 @ 4  Tue 14 @ 8:30  Sun 19 @ 5:30  Thu 23 @ 9:15  Fri 24 @ 2

Related Posts:

• Final Schedule Announced for Fringe Encore Series
• Snow White Zombie: Apocalypse – The End Is Nigh In Fairy Tale Land (Fringe Festival 2012)
• Disney Rejects Perform MisSpelled (Fringe Festival 2012)
• The Bardy Bunch – Keep On Singing And Dancing All Through The Night
• Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare, Bama Theatre Company (Fringe Festival 2012)

Have you ever seen something so comically bad you are almost happy you saw it? In two hours, D’Jamin Bartlett’s MisSpelled channels the missteps and bloopers of an Ed Wood movie, mixed with a Disney vibe and theater camp feel. Sounds like a lot? With nine cast members, about twice that many characters, and 15 original songs by composer Mark Bornfield—it is.

First, the songs. Given that most of the tunes focus on love and sound like a Whitney Huston cover band from the early 1990s, it’s not surprising to find Bornfield has accompanied the famous singer on the stage before. Despite this, the synthesized-heavy songs felt more cheesy than tender, and lacked the finesse of any diva, especially when the cast broke out in song with, Don’t Choke That Chicken, which they complemented with a rubber version of the bird.

One line in that song went something like this, “don’t choke that chicken, even if you put him in a pot.” This confused me given that one of the best characters, Sadie, the Jewish mother, played wonderfully by Rosalind Harris, made a batch of Jewish medicine, aka, chicken soup. Sadie also had the best song of the bunch, Sadie’s Seder, which incorporated everything you love about a stereotype, complete with song, and dance. Unfortunately, this didn’t follow through and we never got to see her dinner, which I am convinced would have been a riot.

This plot line falls in with Sadie’s son David, played by Brance Cornelius, who had fallen in love with a young and pretty witch named Celeste, played by the stunning Lauren Hoffmeier. They couple met after Celeste’s mother, the queen of the witches, played by Bartlett, accidently placed a love spell on her daughter. After that, the plot line ultimately revolves around Celeste’s kingly father trying to break the young couple up, and the two families coming to terms with marriage between a Jewish mortal family, and a rich witch family.  There was an unconvincing bad warlock in the mix played by Paul Craffey, who kept forgetting his lines and was as menacing as Tim Gunn.

Perhaps this show would be best cut in half, or at least tightened up so the story line flowed better. Of course, it would help if the actors had more practice too, that way the audience wouldn’t be forced to watch unsynchronized dance numbers and players who don’t know what they are doing. Maybe in her heyday, Bartlett could have pulled this off, but now, in 2012, the whole thing reads more like a grade school assignment for adults.

~~~

MisSpelled
Borkenstein Productions
Writer: D’Jamin Bartlett and Mark BornfieldTBA
Choreographer: Shirley Johnston
A Gothic tale of power in the wrong hands at the wrong time. Warlocks and witches scheme to further the cause of true love. A Light-hearted view of what happens when a warlock’s daughter falls for a mortal piano player.
2h 20m   National   Hollywood, Florida
Musical   Comedy
Staycation: Ride the Rollercoaster of Love   In Someone Else’s Shoes
www.markbornfieldmusic.com
VENUE #12: Cherry Lane Theatre
Sat 11 @ 3:15  Sat 18 @ 8  Tue 21 @ 5:15  Sat 25 @ 2:15  Sun 26 @ 3:15

Related Posts:

• Snow White Zombie: Apocalypse – The End Is Nigh In Fairy Tale Land (Fringe Festival 2012)
• Pulp Shakespeare – The Bard Would Be Proud (Fringe Festival 2012)
• Drowning Ophelia: She Gets On Swimmingly (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• The Extraordinary Fall of the Four-Legged Woman: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Outskirts of Eden: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)

Politics, an election, religion, Twitter—with so many current trending topics, how could #mormoninchief  not be interesting? In fear of burying the lead, I will tell you now that regrettably, it was not. Given the smoothness of the script, I don’t think the author of the book, Matthew Greene, wrote a bad play, nor was the execution faulty. In fact, the three-man show featuring Karis Danish, Nicole Rodenburg, and leading with Jesse Liebman, ran efficiently, and the actors professionally played out their characters.

But in the end, I wondered why I was watching #mormoninchief. The premise of the story proved intriguing: An everyday Mormon named Connor Jorgensen, played by Liebman, started a Twitter feed and wrote a line exulting something his brother in the church said. That brother happened to also be running for president, and, given the quickness of the Internet, Jorgensen’s tweet spread like a wild fire and angered the candidate. He had no idea this happened until a crackerjack reporter named Lydia Strout, played by Rodenburg, burst into his life with questions not only about the tweet, but about Jorgensen’s place in life.

Not bad, eh? Unfortunately, this plot never really panned out, and instead, the viewers watched as they circled around these subjects and beat them into blind boredom.  Halfway through the play I wanted it to be done, and, as my savvy companion pointed out, “Right now 140 characters doesn’t seem like such a bad thing.” Maybe if the show cut their hour-and-a-half time down to 45 minutes or an hour, it would have flowed better. They could have easily nicked the character of Kate Walker, played by Danish, Jorgensen’s friend and the wife of his business partner. She came in screeching about her husband ignoring her and then they talked about some dull personal stuff. Then they did it again, and again. At this point, you may ask, what about the Twitter feed? Well, in the end that idea petered out as not only did Jorgensen not tweet again, but also the actual impact of his one tweet was never fully explained. In the end, this left the show flat and fleeting, instead of something to be tweeting.

~~~

 #MormonInChief
Michael Holt Productions
Writer: Matthew Greene
Director: Austin Regan
Connor, an unassuming Mormon, becomes the center of media frenzy when he tweets inflammatory statements inspired by a Mormon presidential candidate. When ambitious blogger Lydia confronts him, Connor is forced to choose between living by faith or living by fact.
1h 30m   Local   Manhattan, New York
Drama   Comedy
Staycation: Ripped from the Headlines   In Someone Else’s Shoes
www.mormoninchiefplay.com
VENUE #07: The Kraine Theater
Sat 11 @ 6  Tue 14 @ 4:45  Sat 18 @ 12  Sun 19 @ 7  Wed 22 @ 2:30

Related Posts:

• Snow White Zombie: Apocalypse – The End Is Nigh In Fairy Tale Land (Fringe Festival 2012)
• Bite The Apple – To Bite Or Not To Bite? (Fringe Festival 2012)
• Super Sidekick The Musical … Pawn (Fringe Festival 2012)
• The Extraordinary Fall of the Four-Legged Woman: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• CHALK: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)

The team behind Super Sidekick the Musical have perfected the art of live-action cartoon, mixed with a healthy dose of Glee. In this production, directed by Steve Knight, there are ninja koalas, damsels in un-distress, a thoughtful villain, and pudgy, dorky sidekick. The later is Inky, which Jonathan Nadolny plays to precision, giving the short and shorted sidekick an endearing, albeit slightly nasal, quality. He acts counter to the sleek and pompous Blackjack the Bold (dun-duna-da!), played smoothly by Evan Maltby, who channeled the frat-boy-like aura of the superhero.

As these two caped-crusaders ran up and down the aisle, bits of song broke out in perfect harmony, thanks to the musical director and piano player Stephen Bent. Such songs include If I Were a Hero Too, Inky and the Princess, and possibly the most memorable tune, Slurm’s Soliloquy, where Slurm, the slimy super villain played by Tom Slot (who just wrapped up the devious play about serial killers called Killing Time—do we sense a theme, Slot?), waxed poetically about the troubles being evil.

The premise of the story goes: Inky is a sidekick who wants to be a superhero. Blackjack is a jerk. The princess, played by the Princess Toadstool look-a-like Mollie Fischer, loves Inky; she gets stolen. Blackjack discounts Inky and hence, the superhero gets taken also. Inky overcomes his fear of the dark—cue The Caves of Doom—and voila! Evil is…well I can’t tell you everything. There are also two, unbelievably humorous ninja kolas, played by Lauren Quirk and Daniel Tepper, that had me wondering why we don’t see more live-action, kung-fu animals in plays. Seriously, it was too funny. On that note, with the fast pace, audience participation, and fun characters, if you have children this play is right up their alley. But, even as a grown woman I found it humorous, saucy, and a lot of fun. Yes, it’s cheesy, but they do it so well.

~~~

Super Sidekick: The Musical
ArtEffects Theatre Company in Association with Theatre Unleashed
Writer: Gregory Crafts, music and lyrics by Michael Gordon Shapiro
Director: Steve Knight, Music Director: Stephen Bent
Adventure! Romance! Ninja koalas! Sorcerer Slurm has captured the greatest hero in the kingdom! Can lowly sidekick Inky save the day? “…perfect for small children, with audience participation, a perfect hour run-time and catchy musical numbers” -L.A. Theatre Review
1h 0m   Local   New York , New York
FringeJR   Musical
Staycation: Sci-Fi Tech SuperHero Camp
www.supersidekick-musical.com
VENUE #16: SoHo Playhouse
Fri 10 @ 5  Sat 18 @ 4:15  Tue 21 @ 7  Fri 24 @ 5:15  Sun 26 @ 1

Related Posts:

• Lil’ Women: a rap musical: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Don’t Move To Toronto: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Final Schedule Announced for Fringe Encore Series
• GRIMM: A New Musical – Two Sisters, One Necklace (Fringe Festival 2012)
• Snow White Zombie: Apocalypse – The End Is Nigh In Fairy Tale Land (Fringe Festival 2012)