By Cindy Whitehair
It’s been a while since we have been to a show at the Off Broadway Theatre in Salt Lake City and Forever Dead was a great show to come back to – or to make it as your first OBT experience. This is one show you do not want to miss.
As you may have surmised, Forever Dead is a parody of a Utah favorite Forever Plaid, the off Broadway musical review. Written by OBT co-founder Eric R. Jensen (2017 updates by Jon Baty and Sunny Bringhurst), Forever Dead tells the story of four classic monsters – Dracula, the Mummy, Frankenstein and the Wolfman as teenagers. In this case, Bloods (Jeffrey Black), Sphinx (Doug Caldwell), Frankie (Jon Baty) and Barky (Josh Curtis) are the featured creatures. The boys are stuck haunting a theater where old scary movies used to play and in order to pass on to the other side, they need to come to grips with a past that haunts them. It is only with the help of Doris Carloff (Debby Canon) that boys fulfill their mission and pass on to the other side.
The first act sticks as true to the “script” as a parody can, with great parodies of the classic songs “3 Coins In A Fountain”, “Moments to Remember” and “No, Not Much”. The second act throws caution to the wind and parodies some more modern hits (“Boo-Mummian Wrapsody” and “Normal Brain” are side splittingly hysterical).
From the minute this cast takes the stage, you can tell they are having a blast performing this show and their enthusiasm for the show is contagious. Baty and Black are hysterical as their respective monsters and they often get some of the biggest laughs while Caldwell and Curtis are often the straight “men” in the comedy team. There is no 4th wall in this show, with the cast constantly interacting with the audience – including bringing a member of the audience on stage for “Don’t He Sucks”.
The set is your typical dungeon, man-cave chic: dark, slightly foreboding and decked out for Halloween. The set design (Eric R. Jensen, Rob Reins and Clint Lehmber) is perfectly themed for the show and the holiday. The set also allowed choreographer Bringhurst ample room for the tight doo-wop synchronization that Forever Plaid and music of that era requires. Bringhurst also directed the show (assistant director Kyle Esposito) to the chaotic perfection that is an OBT production. Even the obligatory political jokes that are in the show are done with a deft touch – neither too harsh on the subject at hand, nor too light (the 2 AM Trump tweets gag was an absolute hoot). In an era where political humor seems to want to do nothing but go for the kill, it is refreshing to see good-natured political jabs.
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This is not the first time we have seen Forever Dead and I doubt it will be the last. It is that much fun.
Forever Dead is a great show for the whole family. One word of caution, though, there is the use of strobe lighting and a fog machine at the beginning and at the end of the show. Those with sensitivities to both, may wish to request a seat further back in the theater.
The Off Broadway Theater Presents Forever Dead by Eric R. Jensen, Jon Baty, and Sunny Bringhurst
Off Broadway Theatre & Laughing Stock Improv 272 S Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
September 29-November 4 every Friday, Saturday and Monday at 7:30 PM
Tickets $10 to $16
The Off Broadway Theatre Facebook Page
Forever Dead Facebook Event
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