'Zombie Prom' Takes The Stage in Woodstock

WOODSTOCK, GA -- What do you do when a zombie pops out of a locker in your high school hallway?

If you are a student at Enrico Fermi High School, the answer is not much. When badboy, Jonny, is called back from death by the love of the beautiful Toffee, fellow students are not alarmed.

But principal Delilah Strict most definitely is, and she is not happy about the development.

She implements a “no zombie” rule at the school, and tries to prevent Jonny from attending classes. But Jonny’s appearance and the attention given to him by a muck-raking journalist spur the students to start a crusade for zombie rights.

The tension escalates as prom draws near. Principal Strict declares that if Jonny shows up at the prom, it will be cancelled.

Zombie Prom is a musical romp through the halls of Enrico Fermi High school during America’s Atomic Age. Similar to "Grease" and other teenage romance shows, this girl-loves-ghoul musical is filled with 50's-style sock hop tunes and campy fun.

The show is based on a story by John Dempsey and Hugh Murphy. The music is by Dana P. Rowe and the book and lyrics are also by John Dempsey. The show is rated PG.

As part of Elm Street’s Spotlight Series, the show is a full-length musical that is performed by actors aged 12 to 19.

“Our spotlight series takes actors with some experience and prepares them for main stage shows by doing a full-on musical production," said director Siobhan Brumbelow. "The work is pretty intensive, with four-hour rehearsals every Saturday, and lots of work during the week."

Caleb Joyner is one of the 16 members of the cast. An eighth-grader at E.T. Booth Middle School in Woodstock, Joyner has performed previously in "Rapunzel," "Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley" and "Little Mermaid, Jr."

“I’ve gone to see lots of shows before I was actually involved in one,” he said. "I like acting because it challenges me to become someone else. It becomes my job to convince people that I am not who I am. I want to be an actor so I'm trying to get involved in as many shows as possible to gain experience.”

When asked how "Zombie Prom" has challenged or stretched his performance skills, Joyner said that “compared to the other shows I have been in, this definitely has had the most difficult choreography."

"This is the first show I felt like I was dancing instead of walking to the beat," the child actor said.

"Zombie Prom" goes hand-in-hand with and bears the same name as the theme for the April 7 installment of Woodstock's Friday Night Live mini festival.

The show will have only four performances, so the public is encouraged to get their tickets soon. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. The show opens Thursday, April 20 and runs through Sunday, April 23 at the Chambers at City Center auditorium, which is at 8534 Main Street.

Show times are 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information and to purchase tickets on line, go to www.elmstreetarts.org or call 678-494-4251.

Photo: Kristina Welch as the rule-abiding principal Miss Strict with Beth Leak and Jacob Adams (Toffee and Johnny). Credit: Elm Street Cultural Arts Village