Photo Flash: Razors Edge Productions Presents ZOMBIE

Following a critically acclaimed World Premiere at The 2008 New York International Fringe Festival, Razors Edge Productions proudly presents a revival of Zombie, an award-winning solo play by Bill Connington, adapted from the novella by Joyce Carol Oates. Zombie is directed by Thomas Caruso and performed by Bill Connington. Zombie began performances on February 18 and continues through March 29, 2009 in a limited 6-week engagement at the Theatre Row Complex (Studio Theatre), located at 410 West 42 Street between 9 & 10 Avenues in NYC. Official opening was on February 21. Post-show discussions will follow select shows.

Performances are Thursdays-Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm with no performance on Sun Mar 15. Tickets are $21.25 and can be purchased online at http://www.TicketCentral.com or by calling 212-279-4200. Running time is 75 minutes with no intermission. For more information on the play and to read the reviews visit http://www.ZombieThePlay.com.

What happens when outwardly “normal” people snap? Joyce Carol Oates’ Zombie sheds insight into this question by taking you inside the mind of a sexual psychopath. In Zombie, a Jeffrey Dahmer-esque serial killer by the name of “Quentin P__” describes the murder, torture and rape of his young male victims. A sexual psychopath, he aspires to create zombie slaves to meet his every need. ZOMBIE received the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel and was awarded the Lilla Risk Rand fiction prize by the Boston Book Review. Warning: Zombie is not appropriate for those under the age of 17 due to adult situations.

Subsequent to its run at The 2008 NY International Fringe Festival, Zombie received the FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award for Outstanding Solo Show, Talkin’ Broadway granted Connington the Outstanding Actor (Male) Award, and OffOffOff.com honored the play as a Fringe Festival Favorite in the categories of Best Overall Show, Best Lead Actor, Best Direction and Best Design. Samuel French Publishers will be releasing Connington’s adaptation in February 2009 to coincide with the play’s opening.

Joyce Carol Oates has written some of the most enduring fiction of our time. In a prolific and varied career that ranges over several genres of fiction, Joyce Carol Oates has proven herself one of the most influential and important storytellers in the literary world. She is a New York Times best-selling author of more than 70 books, including novels, short story collections, poetry volumes, plays, literary criticism and essays. She is a recipient of the National Book Award, the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction and the Common Wealth Award for Distinguished Service in Literature. She has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize, and has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 1978.

Director Thomas Caruso’s directing credits include the sold-out world premiere new musical Wood (starring Tony Award Winner Cady Huffman) at NYMF 2008, the critically acclaimed play, 10 Percent of Molly Snyder, at Penguin Rep, the world premiere of Don’t Talk To The Actors at the Studio Arena Theatre, Diagnosis with The Play Company at 59E59, Mimi Le Duck (starring Eartha Kitt) at New World Stages, The Butcherhouse Chronicles at SPF, The Middle East – In Pieces at the Cherry Lane, the premiere of Earth to Bucky at the Bay Street Theatre, the world premiere of Terrence McNally and Israel Horovitz’s Off Season – a duet at Gloucester Stage and the national tour of Master Class, starring Charlotte Cornwell of the RSC.

Bill Connington’s acting credits include Mr. Gallico at HERE, Spectacle of Spectacles at La MaMa and All Mixed Up Inside My Head at La MaMa. As a playwright, his credits include Lord Byron’s Lover, Teach Me All About Love, Johnny Mathis, and his own adaptation of The Picture Of Dorian Gray, all of which have been seen in New York. Bill has twice been a finalist at The O’Neill Theater Conference.

Zombie includes an original score composed by Deirdre Broderick. The design/production team consists of Joel E. Silver (Lighting Design), Josh Zangen (Scenic Design) and Naomi Anhorn (Production Assistant).

The post-show discussion line-up includes:

February 27 - Dr. Michael Stone, a highly regarded forensic psychiatrist who hosts Most Evil, a television program about serial killers on The Discovery Channel. Dr. Stone specializes in infanticide, sadism, severe personality disorder and serial sexual killings. Stone teaches at Columbia University and is widely published.

March 6 - Dr. Jeremy Butler, a forensic psychiatrist at Columbia University, who also teaches at NYU on the interplay between media and mental illness.

March 14 - Dr. Jacqueline Basha, a psychiatrist at Columbia University, who trained as a resident at Harvard and Roosevelt Hospital. Dr. Basha has a life-long interest in serial killers.

March 22 - Dr. Abby Stein, a forensic psychologist and associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Dr. Stein is the author of Prologue to Violence, about the deeper origins of violent crime.

Photos courtesy of David Gibbs/DARR Publicity.

Bill Connington

Bill Connington, Joyce Carol Oates and Thomas Caruso

Bill Connington, Joyce Carol Oates and Thomas Caruso

Deirdre Broderick, Thomas Caruso and Bill Connington

Thomas Caruso and Bill Connington

Thomas Caruso