Zombie Joe’s Raises the Dead with their F*cked Up Easter Egg Hunt
Considering the level of insanity on display at any given Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre production, it was to great anticipation that ZJU announced that they would be tackling one of the holiest of holidays with their F*cked Up Easter Egg Hunt. In a tiny theatre where taboo topics are rarely off-limits and full frontal nudity is almost always to be expected, how would the resurrection of Jesus Christ himself be handled by the folks who bring us Urban Death?
The answer, of course, is the same way they handle every production: with an irreverence bordering on absurd and every ounce of bizarre fun that they can muster.
While January’s Camp Whitsit was an exercise in sensory deprivation, taking “campers” on a journey largely by way of sound and touch, Zombie Joe’s F*cked Up Easter Egg Hunt was very much the opposite, a feast for the eyes. After being led through that familiar sliding door, the interior of Zombie Joe’s was bathed in an eerie red light, as participants were charged with finding, or more importantly, earning, as many Easter eggs as they could in the midst of an Eyes Wide Shut-style bacchanalian celebration.
Directed by ZJU veteran Brandon Slezak, the show’s lack of linear direction provided a rich, chaotic energy that made it nearly impossible not to smile through. It was a free-for-all, with guests roaming the theatre like lost spirits while bunny-eared cast members danced and cheered, celebrating Easter like it’s never been celebrated before.
Some guests were urged to relate stories of Easters past to the moans and shouts of amorous revelers, while others were tasked with retrieving eggs from the cleavage of an imposing, vinyl-clad mistress (hands-free, of course), all building to a climax involving a golden egg and a, well, unconventional hiding place.
Zombie Joe’s F*cked Up Easter Egg Hunt was a blink-and-you-miss-it affair, running for all of three days over Easter weekend, but those who managed to take part participated in something truly surreal. With experimental pieces like this, ZJU has evolved outside of just the horror oeuvre, teaching guests, if nothing else, to expect the unexpected.
For more information on Zombie Joe’s, visit www.zombiejoes.com
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