By Amanda Whittle
The Off Broadway Theatre in Salt Lake City is known for two things: its inventive Utah parodies and its hilarious and unexpected collaborations; Downton Dead, as one can tell by the name, is the latter—a combination of the British drama series Downton Abbey and zombie horror series The Walking Dead. Despite my knowing nothing about Downton Abbey and my intense fear of zombies, I thoroughly enjoyed this performance because of the over-the-top characters and clever comedy, which is exactly what I expected going to The Off Broadway Theater.
Do not be deceived by its name—The Off Broadway Theatre is not a fancy or expensive theater, but its size and quality make it a comfortable place to sit back, relax, and enjoy fantastic comedy, and if you choose to buy snacks, you won’t be paying up your pantaloons, so that is always a plus. (Its name comes from its location off Broadway St.) It is conveniently located right next to the Gallivan Center Trax station and City Creek Mall, which has free parking for the first two hours, so despite its location in Downtown Salt Lake City, it is very easy to get to without worrying much about the cost.
Despite it being her first writing credit to date, director, choreographer, and playwright Sunny Simkins creates a wonderful horror comedy with just a touch of fright and a happy ending. The story tells of an affluent Granthacker family and their three servants on the verge of financial ruin during a zombie apocalypse ravaging Europe in 1919. They—especially the mother Lady Dora (Jessica Benson), father Lord Hershy (Matthew Davids), and daughter Lily (Mary Kathryn Rath)—have an excessively difficult time separating from their upscale lifestyle to survive. Fortunately, Lily’s boyfriend and rugged soldier Richard Crawler (Sebastian Smith) does his best to help them accept the realities of their situation, despite it not really working as he expects. Prince Yassir Aiyam (Chris Harvey) arrives just in time to help them escape their financial situation, but is bitten by a zombie before his arrival and shortly thereafter becomes one himself, directly after meeting his love, Eateth (Rusty Bringhurst), the awkward yet loveable lead, is the poisoned and often overlooked daughter of the family. Level-headed and rebellious servants Peggy (Ashtyn Roskelley) and Darreth (Zachari Michael Reynolds) realize they must help the family to benefit their own survival despite their reservations—only after an epic dance battle, of course. The other servant, Bateson (Clarence Strohn), lives up to his commitment to serve his master even unto his death. With the obvious addition of an incredibly creepy “Zombesemble” and help from the talented Sound and Light Tech Erin Orr, the ideal and unexpected Downton Abbey and Walking Dead combination is born.
All characters display their personalities exactly as they should—you hope the entire time Benson and Davids will be eaten because they’re so pretentious and annoying, you want to smack Rath in the face for being such a whiney baby, you want to high-five Roskelley and Reynolds for being so sly, and just give Bringhurst’s character a nice, warm, hug, even though she probably smells terrible because she can ward off zombies with her underarms. Despite being the “forgotten” character, Bringhurst displays his characteristic improvisational wit and is always the star of any show he is in. My husband and I truly believe he is the funniest man in Utah. Though the focus of the show is not the music, Roskelley and Benson should be commended for their singing abilities in “Meant for More” and “Now That I’m All Alone,” respectively, and Davids and Smith really know how to get down when dancing during “Dance-Off.” The Zombesemble needs a shout-out, for there would be no show without them, and they bring the life and slight sense of fear that every zombie performance requires. Although the theatre is appropriate for families, I would recommend sitting toward the middle of the audience if you or a member of your party is afraid of zombies. I would have definitely screamed if I had an aisle seat.
I love The Off Broadway Theatre. It is one of our favorite date spots, the best comedy one can find in Utah, and overall a fun, family-friendly, and happy place to spend your evening. Plus, if you attend a show on a Friday or Saturday, you can get into their Improv show, Laughing Stock, at 10:00 PM at a discounted rate. We adore Laughing Stock—it is so laid back and full of audience participation. Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be late to work because you hit Vincent Van Gogh with a tortoise and porpoise-pulled chariot? Me neither, but we found out last night, and that is just one example of the many outrageous skits by the talented comedians at Laughing Stock. As for Downton Dead, in the words of director and playwright Sunny Simkins, “Laugh with us tonight, and spread that joy faster than a zombie plague when you leave.”
Off
Broadway Theatre presents Downtown Dead by Sunny Simkins
Off Broadway Theatre, 272 Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
June 14- July 20, 2019 Monday, Friday-Saturday 7:30 PM
Tickets: $10-$16
Contact: 801-355-4628
Off
Broadway Theatre’s Facebook Page
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