BWW Reviews: THE ZOMBIE EFFECT Will Make You Puke Your Guts From Continuous Laughter and Astonishing Fright
By: Gil Kaan Oct. 27, 2014
The Zombie Effect/by Leif Gantvoort/directed by Leif Gantvoort /ACME NoHo/thru December 14, 2014
The Zombie Effect -the ideal scary experience for the haunting Halloween season. Like taking one of those house of horrors rides where some creature jumps out at you when you least expect it. Gruesomely talented cast makes entrances from every possible door of the ACME Theatre-like surround-sound horror. This spooky happening actually begins pre-curtain with various cast members acting cray-cray running though the ticketholders on the sidewalk. Then Lumber Jack (an effective Chuck McCarthy) comes from the lobby with his axe, onto the ACME stage to perform a combination audience warm-up and pre-show rules- and-regs speech. He then hands out plastic ponchos to protect those down front from (Spoiler Alert!) spurting body fluids.
With multiple killings occurring in the neighboring areas, a desperate motley group of strangers get stranded in a church bonding together(some more than others) to survive the murderers just outside the chapel doors.
Karl (Leif Gantvoort) enters the church with an injured Judith (Chauntal Lewis) in tow, greeted by "The Priest" (Kevin Small), who lives in not his, but "god's house." As the three of them try to make sense of the treacherous goings-on, a short-of-stature "Cop Guy" (Jeremy Luke) and a smartly dressed "Rich Bitch" (Ana Alexander) bang on the locked doors to gain entry into their safe haven . Later incoming fugitives include "Stripper Chick" (Jamie Kereszi), "Douchebag" (Eddie Alfano) and an assorted costumed zombies and clowns.
Productions where one person takes on the triple or quadruple threat of roles (as in the movie just out, Birdman's Michael Keaton's egotistical character attempting triple duty on his first play on Broadway) usually tend to be problematic with a single vision overpowering every aspect (good or bad) of the show. Fortunately, for us the audience, director Gantvoort's ego's in healthy check having the wise sense to have Jen Woldrich as his co-director and third eye. Playwright Gantvoort generously distributes some of the funnier lines of dialogue to others in his talented cast. And although, one could categorize actor Gantvoort's role of Karl as the male lead, he consistently allows the others to upstage him stealing the spotlight from himself countless times. Gantvoort's a giver and all his giving comes back to him in spades (or actually chainsaws and electric drills) making his The Zombie Effect an all-round successful slice of entertainment!
Each of the fore-mentioned hilarity-inducing actors all have their individual and collective moments to shine. The wonderful Small as "The Priest" appears so sensible in his quoting of scriptures under the influence of many, many goblets of wine. Lewis' Judith ably comes out of her post-car crash shock, takes charge, and then unexpectedly rejects Karl's expected advances. Luke's "Cop Guy's" wonderfully self-depreciating in his slight of height and authority control issues. Alexander runs away with some of the best lines in Gantvoort's script as the stylishly LBD-clad "Rich Bitch." She tangles well with "Cop Guy" and "Stripper Chick," while bonding nicely in a drinking game with "The Priest." Kereszi has much fun with "Stripper Chick" demonstrating her hidden smarts and lap dance moves. Alfano, commanding as "Douchebag," makes maximum effect in his short time onstage. After he's shot, the audience women's "awwws" greatly added to the hilarity of the moment, as this response so differed from the non-reactions for previous characters' demises. (You had to be there!)
Don't want to give away the end, but the final scene's just thrillingly perfect!
Do go and be jumping-out-of-your-seats scared and snot-running-out-of-your-nose laughing.
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