Rejoice Horror fans, Urban Death is back at Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre for three weekends starting tonight. With its signature mix of the poignant and the profane, this incarnation of Urban Death offers a collection of vignettes that feels like a polished staging of an unrelenting nightmare. Veteran Urban Death performer Denise Devin takes her first stab at directing this iconic show and her voice is loud and clear. Her take dwells in the sad, the painful, the melancholy, and the truly horrific. Her hand-picked cast rises to the occasion with powerful performances across the board. In short, do not miss this Urban Death.
What is Urban Death anyway? It is a black box theatre show that lasts about 45 minutes. Guests are seated in the intimate performance space that seats about 75 people and the show begins. The room becomes pitch black, a trademark of ZJU. Then the lights rise on the performance space where any number of things could be waiting. A pair of conjoined killer dolls, A nebulous aquatic being, floating clown heads, all of these are suddenly there and then gone. There is no dialogue. Instead, the mini scenes of fiendish creation utilize original music composed by Joseph Bishara and an ensemble of fearless performers to convey emotion and mood.
Speaking of the ensemble, this is easily one of the strongest casts I have ever seen for an Urban Death. It’s a mix of commanding performers like Jonica Patella, Ian Heath, and Elif Savas, with the vibrant energy of Elijah Cunnally Andrew Dippe, Daisy Donohue, Joe Filippone, and Nick Salas. However, it’s Urban Death newbie Jennie Tuliao who impressed me. Not because of any one moment, but because she holds her own against such a powerful and dynamic cast. She blends. It’s a daunting task to take the stage with the likes of Patella and Savas and she succeeds.
Created by Zombie Joe and Jana Wimer, the show explores the truly horrific to mine for universal truth. This is horror for horror people. This Urban Death isn’t a funny, goofy one. It does not have stabby, spurty gross-out moments (aside from one classic bit that had me gagging). This Urban Death under Devin’s expert direction is an elegant meditation on dread. The show is most effective when it dances in the fringes of the shocking moments to explore the seconds leading to or the moments after a grisly moment.
If you are in the Los Angeles Area and love thought-provoking, challenging art you need to grab a ticket and see Urban Death at Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre during its limited run. Full disclosure, take the graphic content and trigger warnings seriously. This show will haunt your memory and give you more than enough to think about.
WHEN: Fridays & Saturdays April 26-27, May 3-4, 10 -11
TIMES: Two full shows each night: 8:30pm & 10:30pm (approx. 45 minutes)
WHERE: ZJU Theatre – 4850 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood, CA 91601
TICKETS: http://zombiejoes.tix.com/ Advance tickets $20 online / $25 at door
WEBSITES: http://zombiejoes.com/ & http://www.urbandeath.com/
WARNING: Graphic content, trigger warnings, and full nudity. AGES 17+
