On the one hand, the schoolgirls are rightly portrayed as immature imitators unaware of just how disturbed their actions are. Yet ringleader Jude (Maria Teresa Creasey) could have used a little more back story and a more complete characterization, while her followers Denise (Heather Bonahoom) and Kate Shine (Anita) were reduced to classic henchwomen without any hint of individuality. Meanwhile, we had to deal with a slew of subplots about the kidnapped girl’s mother’s alcoholism, a false accusation against a teaching assistant, and the media’s vulture-like coverage of the story. We get it, the contemporary world can’t handle pre-modern spirituality. With an overly long, overly turgid production and poorly-executed tech design, however, the real substance of the play gets lost.
In adapting a writer as distinctly focused on the inner world as Joyce Carol Oates, nothing says the internal has to be the only focus. But as Zombie and The Corn Maiden both show, that inner world needs to be the primary focus of any such production. That doesn’t necessarily mean that literary drama has to be on a small scale, but it does show that when psychology is key, big budget flash can't substitute for real human drama.
Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates. Adapted and performed by Bill Connington; directed by Thomas Caruso; original score by Deirdre Broderick; lighting design by Joel E. Silver; scenic design by Josh Zangen. Photo by Tony David
The Corn Maiden by Joyce Carol Oates. Adapted by Justin Swain and Jess McLeod. Directed by Jess McLeod; art direction by Nickey Frankel; lighting design by K.J. Hardy; costume design by Wendy Yang; sound design by Sam Brodsky. Photo by Frankel.
Starring Maria Teresa Creasey (Jude), Heather Bonahoom (Denise), Kate Shine (Anita), Hana Kalinski (Marisa), Erin Roberts (Leah), Jessica Day (Avril) and Michael Markham (Mikal)
Both shows have completed their runs at the New York International Fringe Festival.
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