New Shadowbox offering has its share of surprises
Well into its third decade of performances, Shadowbox Live still manages to stay fresh.
The troupe’s latest show, the vaguely Halloween-themed “The Rocking Dead,” makes good use of some of its relatively younger and newer members without neglecting experienced ones.
The show, directed by Julie Klein, starts off a bit awkwardly with an overstuffed and overacted rendition of the Single File song “Zombies Ate My Neighbors” and a predictable video of a little girl playing, to her mother’s dismay, with a “Voodoo Barbie.”
But then it hits its stride with a peppy new take on the familiar “spazoid” trio of teenage boys fighting off what they take to be zombies and an intense version of Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer,” performed with wit and passion by Billy DePetro.
As usual, head writer Jimmy Mak — who appears in several of the sketches — anchors the “spazoid” one in the role of lovably nerdy Kirby.
Longtime Shadowbox audience members will notice that his sister, Tess — traditionally played by Amy Lay — is now portrayed by Ashley Pierce; his friends are now played by Brandon Anderson and John Riestenberg. The cast changes, along with a nicely condensed script, are enough to give the old conceit a new twist.
Nearly all the songs are sung, and sung powerfully, by what might be considered second- or third-generation cast members. Aside from the excessive opening number, they’re taut and focused mini-dramas that hold the attention.
Guitarist Brent Lambert stepped down from the stage for a commanding take on Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun,” with strong support from Noelle Anderson, who also offered an intriguingly emotional version of “Born Under a Bad Sign.”
The house band, with Lambert and Aaron Joseph on guitar and Andy Ankrom and Buzz Crisafulli on bass, was in particularly good form for this show — stripped to its essence, and lean and muscular.
The sketches, too, avoided any trace of self-indulgence, making their points quickly and humorously. They were also satisfyingly varied, jumping from political satire to television parody to sheer, exhilarating silliness.
The silliness came courtesy of longtime Shadowbox members Klein and Stephanie Shull as operatic divas giving their all on a medley of hits by bands such as AC/DC and Ozzy Osbourne.
A standout in several of the sketches was John Boyd — as a convincingly smarmy “Gaury Povich” and a snarky millennial confronted with a zombie invasion
Even those who think they know what to expect from Shadowbox are likely to find some pleasing surprises in this new show.