TJC’s ‘Zombie Prom’ asks whether girl, zombie can find true love – Tyler Morning Telegraph

The girls in "Zombie Prom" are "golly gee" wholesome and the boys proudly wear their school colors. That is except for the new kid, Jonny Warner. He is a bad boy.

Jonny is such a rebel that he doesn't even spell his name with a 'h' (gasp). He wears a leather jack (double gasp). And he drives a motorcycle (triple gasp).

Of course Jonny falls in love with sticky sweet good girl Toffee and, predictably, high school chaos erupts.

"It's all meant to be fun," said Jacob Davis, the theater professor directing the play.

Performances are set for 7:30 p.m. today through Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the college's Jean Browne Theatre.

Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors, students and active military and can be ordered by calling the box office, 903-510-2212.

To understand "Zombie Prom," Theatre TJC's fall musical, think "High School Musical" meets "Grease" meets the Disney Channel's "Zombies."

Although it touches on themes of acceptance, defying expectations and dealing with threats to the status quo, Davis said the musical doesn't take itself too seriously.

The story is set at Enrico Fermi High School in the 1950s, where the students have to go through disaster drills because of the nearby nuclear power plant.

It is scandalous when Toffee (Makenna Cook of Houston) and Jonny (Colton Turner of Whitehouse) begin dating. When her parents make her break up, Jonny is so distraught that he crashes his motorcycle into the nuclear power plant.

Toffee is heartbroken until Jonny returns from the dead as a zombie (but not the scary kind that wants to eat others).

The musical opened Off-Broadway in 1996. It has music by Dana P. Rowe and a book and lyrics by John Dempsey.

Cook describes Toffee as a "goody two shoes and "symbol of purity."

"She sees Jonny as this broken boy, who she wants to fix," Cook, a musical theater major, said.

Turner said he understands the feeling of being thrust as the new kid into an established group.

As a business major, he did not begin participating in musical theater until he was cast as one of the news boys in Tyler Civic Theatre's production of "Newsies" this summer.

"This is the first major part, I've done," he said. "I thought this would be something fun for me to do."

Davis said that all in the cast embraced the the campy nature of the show and its catchy songs.

Musical direction is by Andrea Trent, music professor, and choreography by Carolyn Hanna, TJC Dance Department professor and TJC Academy of Dance director.

Characters, cast members and their hometowns: Toffee Little, Makenna Cook of Houston; Candy/Darla Darlington, Maddie Grace Beam of Tyler; Coco/Sheila, Macy Cowart of Tyler; Ginger/Stage Manager, Riley Patrick of Brenham; Peaches, Allie Lake of Tyler; and Little Debbie/Toffees Mother, Holly Griffin of Mineola.

Also: Lorna Doone, Jaxon Charlebois of Winona; Miss Strict, Alondra Strawther of Crandall; Eddie Flagrante, Jared Kainer of Houston; Jonny Warner, Colton Turner of Whitehouse; Jake, Collin Skelton of Bullard; Joey/Toffees Father, Tyler Baker of Tyler; Josh, Aiden Wilt of New Chapel Hill; Jasper, Orion Johnson of Kaufman; Jeffrey, Giovanni Ceja Lua of Muleshoe; and Jean Pierre, Josue Carrizal of Nederland.

Stage manager is Hanna Early of Joshua; assistant stage manager is Hanna Odom of Winona; and assistant director is Keirsten Culver of Forney.

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TJC's 'Zombie Prom' asks whether girl, zombie can find true love - Tyler Morning Telegraph

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero