ZOMBIE: REVIEWS

Awards for The New York International Fringe Festival 2008 production of ZOMBIE:

****Outstanding Solo Show, 2008 FringeNYC Overall Excellence Awards
****Best Overall Show, Best Lead Actor, Best Direction, Best Design, Offoffoff Fringe Festival Favorites 2008
****Outstanding Male Actor, Talkin' Broadway 2008

(See the WHY ZOMBIE page for Bill Connington interviews.)

“Zombie,” which was seen as part of the 2008 New York International Fringe Festival, opened on Saturday Off Broadway at the Studio Theater on Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton; (212) 279-4200. It runs through March 29. Following are excerpts from Anita Gates’s review, which appeared in The New York Times on Aug. 20.

Quentin P. seems a familiar type at first. In his 30s, Quentin (Bill Connington) lives alone in the basement of what used to be his grandmother’s house. His voice and demeanor are somewhat childlike.

When he announces, “I am an admitted sex offender,” it is a shocking confession. But that is only the beginning of the story in “Zombie,” a chilling one-man study of perversity adapted by Mr. Connington from a Joyce Carol Oates novella.

The banality of evil isn’t a new subject in literature or drama, but fiction rarely reveals this much this clearly. Quentin gives his boy victims nicknames — like Raisin Eyes and Squirrel — and insists he loves them. But his monstrousness quickly shows itself.

Mr. Connington commits totally to this haunting characterization and leaves us wondering exactly what kind of people are walking the streets alongside us.

A slide show of photographs of the New York production of "Zombie", and photos of Joyce Carol Oates. There is a commentary by Ms. Oates.

Some free advice to anyone going to see "Zombie": Sit in the back. Bill Connington, who adapted the solo show from Joyce Carol Oates' novella, perfectly counterfeits the experience of sitting in a room with a serial murderer, which is even less comfortable than it sounds. The show's 75 minutes are best spent as far away as possible from the actor, whose ingenious performance gives the skin-crawling piece such an authentic texture that the artificiality of the light and sound changes are a welcome reminder of the outside world.

Connington's adaptation is not quite perfect; there are moments in which the descriptions of physical violence are so extreme, they feel a little too stylized. But those moments are the exception, not the rule. Connington is not interested in performing a whodunit (he did it, after all) but in re-creating a truly evil character down to the last detail. Thus, for the entire play, the actor seems to be channeling the weirdness of an utterly amoral psychopath.

The question ultimately becomes whether it's worth it to spend time with somebody as disturbed as Oates' invention -- sexually stunted killer Quentin P_, who dreams of having a "zombie" slave, which he believes he can create by giving a kidnap victim a prefrontal lobotomy with an icepick. For the faint of heart, the talkback afterward is highly recommended, if for no other reason than to see Connington revealed as a friendly, nice-seeming guy who's unlikely to chase you down 42nd Street after the show.

Probably against Quentin's will, "Zombie" is the story of his victims. True to character, Quentin couches his tale as a series of failures to maim someone into the concubine he thinks he deserves, but that's not what the audience perceives (we hope). Between Quentin's lips and our ears, the story turns into a tale of five ways someone can abduct and damage another human being.

Representing that human being is a mannequin, its arms and legs bent at the elbows and knees in an unnatural way, its Styrofoam head and incongruous, lifelike hands held on with electrical tape. It frequently wears a Detroit Tigers baseball cap. Believe it or not, Quentin leaves the mannequin alone for most of the play -- it just sits there as a silent reminder of the way he views the rest of the people in the world and, of course, the audience.

Horror onstage is a tricky business. When it succeeds, it reminds you that theater can't really be called a medium, since there's nothing between you and the action. "Zombie" is scary in a different way than a movie like "Hostel" or "Hellraiser," because there's so much separating the filmgoer from what's in the film and because the theater has some special effects all its own, like direct address. When Quentin turns to speak to the audience, we really feel we're in the presence of someone morally empty.

What puts "Zombie" in a category separate from scary theater like "The Seafarer" or "Sweeney Todd" is that there's nobody else there to mitigate the rage of the murderous lunatic. It's just him and you in a very small space.

This may or may not read as a recommendation, but it's hard to overstate the effectiveness of Connington's unblinking gaze, weird cadence and surprising, off-kilter swearing. Impressive, too, is helmer Thomas Caruso's direction, which evokes the other people in Quentin's life without ever letting him seem to break character in telling us his stories. The play's merits as a study in evil are debatable, since there's nothing good with which to contrast Quentin. But the character's snakelike, hypnotic quality is not.

An interview of Bill Connington with John Topping from stageandcinema.com

. . . but actor Bill Connington is so terrifyingly ordinary, so captivatingly creepy in his role of Quentin P that it’s impossible to look away. As he describes the procedures he undertakes to operate on his victims, you find yourself utterly entranced, as disgusted with yourself for watching as you are with the freak in front of you.

And make no mistake – Connington is a freak. And I mean that in the best possible way. His soulless stare is so, well, soulless that it’s like staring into a moral black hole. When he booms his fury at seeing a prospective zombie “strutting like a proud cock” before a group of young girls, you find yourself quaking in fear despite his 100-pound frame. Word on the street is he’s so convincing that even his friends find it hard to be around him after a show. Even Oates was hesitant to shake his hand.

Interview with Fangoria, the horror website. "ZOMBIE explores the mind of a pedophilic serial killer and his obsession with brainwashing and enslaving a victim into an undead-like state to do his bidding. Connington brings serious intensity to the role of main character/narrator Quentin P., and while audience reactions have been extremely positive, they’ve also been as visceral as those which many legendary horror films have elicited."

Reviews for the FringeNYC production of ZOMBIE:

"Shocking . . . a chilling one-man study of perversity . . . Mr. Connington commits totally to this haunting characterization and leaves us wondering exactly what kind of people are walking the streets alongside us."

The Year in Review. 3 Dozen Outstanding Performances of 2008. Connington is one of them. "In his adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ Zombie, Bill Connington chillingly emphasized the ordinary in his depiction of a deeply disturbed serial rapist-murderer."

"Harrowing . . . Connington delivers a haunting characterization . . . unnerving . . . The piece is further enhanced by Thomas Caruso's intense staging."

"Not for the faint of heart . . . rewards intrepid theatergoers, delivering a haunting glimpse into the mind of a serial killer . . . Connington takes center stage . . . under the sure-handed direction of Thomas Caruso."

"Ripped-from-the-headlines . . . mines the twisted psyche of a Jeffrey Dahmeresque young man . . . Connington acts this creature chillingly."

"Great . . . [Bill Connington] is scarily good . . . murderously good . . . powerful."

"Almost unbearably intense . . . Mr. Connington generates a galvanizing friction between control and abandon . . . [Connington as Quentin] is either the most monstrous tragedy or the most tragic monster in recent memory."

"We are taken into Quentin's confidence and hear a story of almost unbearable horror . . . [Connington's] commitment to playing Quentin without stepping back and judging the man's behavior gives us the illusion of meeting and listening to a psychopath laying all of his cards on the table. We become a surrogate psychiatrist, or God forbid, a best friend Quentin feels he can trust with the unvarnished truth of what he desires and what he has done . . . Connington's performance is simply extraordinary."

"ZOMBIE delivers a powerful force of terror . . . Connington's energy fills the room . . . Watching in rows close to the stage, it becomes frightening to be in such close proximity to a man who truly seems to be a soulless killer, lacking the smallest shred of regret. ZOMBIE proves to be an endlessly terrifying work, one sure to scare the pants off even the most jaded New Yorker."

"Bone-chilling . . . Connington masterfully mines the rich source material . . . unflinching . . . ZOMBIE challenges us, on a primal level, to confront the potential monster that may lurk within ourselves, and the eternal quest to maintain emotional equilibrium."

"With a cold stare, Connington looked into the audience and then, in his heavy Midwestern accent, he logically revealed the reason he killed . . . "[To] create a zombie. Someone who would fulfill my every need."

"Bill Connington's intense, superbly layered performance as a psychopathic serial killer . . . is not likely to be soon forgotten by anyone who sees it . . . Connington . . . ventures deep inside the sick psyche of Quentin P . . . [it's] horrific . . . Connington''s indelibly detailed performance and his taut, highly dramatic script purposefully pull us into this psychopath's twisted mental state; it isn't long before we follow his demented logic and understand his madness. Ultimately, that is how ZOMBIE achieves its power to disturb: Quentin's violent, inhuman crimes are the product of simple, recognizable human needs and there is no easy answer as to what makes a madman."

"Connington is a riveting performer, and he's exceptionally well-supported by his artistic team. Director Thomas Caruso conducts the piece with exquiste tension which builds with a determined pace . . . Caruso and Connington create startling, revealing theatrical images . . . Connington holds his audience with the kind of control Quentin longs to have over his victims, and though he never asks us to like or sympathize with Quentin, he does demand we understand him. Which raises the question of what is our role in this morbid affair? The piece seems to cast its audience as scientific observers--and Quentin's awareness of being observed may be why it's so unsettling to watch . . . ZOMBIE is . . . a satisfyingly uncomfortable experience."

"Revolting and riveting . . . Bill Connington brings to life one of the most fascinatingly repulsive characters to come down the pike in a long while . . . This show is not for the weak of stomach . . . in addition to being a fascinating look at a serial killer, ZOMBIE is also an indictment on the failures of the criminal justice system to keep a man like this off the street . . . Connington is excellent . . . [creating] a person you wouldn't want to be within 100 miles of but who is . . . eerily compelling . . . Caruso's direction is spot-on, continually ratcheting up the tension and never giving the audience a chance to recover from one situation before leading them headlong into the next . . . Definitely not to be missed."

"Connington . . . eerily inhabits the mind and body of Quentin P. No last names please . . . This show is not for the squeamish. The writing has a beautiful lyricism and style all its own . . . It's an extremely interesting adaptation . . . It is an extremely honest and open performance, with detailed direction by Thomas Caruso . . . You will never be able to look at an ice pick in quite the same way after seeing this show."

"ZOMBIE . . . really creeped me the hell out . . . The way [Connington] moves, the look of his skin, and his overall vibe make it almost impossible to hold on to the fact that he's an actor. I know it's my imagination, but it even seemed like he smelled of a maximum-security prison . . . I could have used the solace of a parent patting my arm and saying, "It's only a play." . . . Connington's interpretation is both . . . repulsive and . . . refined . . . I'll hope not to run into Bill Connington in any dark alleys."

"Brilliantly ghoulish . . . horrific . . . Connington . . . gave a legitimately frightening turn--with a flawless upper Midwest accent."

News item about upcoming production at Theatre Row: "ZOMBIE, a solo play about a serial killer and sex offender, adapted and performed by Bill Connington from a novella by Joyce Carol Oates, will open off Broadway following a run last summer at the New York International Fringe Festival. Previews begin Feb. 18 for a Feb 21 opening at the Theater Row Complex in Clinton (www.zombietheplay.com)."

"Finding Fresh Talent in the Fringe"

Bill Connington

It's no easy feat making a sexual psychopath understandable, if not sympathetic. In his solo show Zombie, adapted from the Joyce Carol Oates novella, Bill Connington plays Quentin P., a Jeffrey Dahmer-esque serial killer. In graphic detail the character recounts the torture, rape, and murder of his young male victims. Quentin's purpose, he explains, is to create zombie slaves who will serve him. For Quentin, it's perfectly logical.

"Quentin P. is the thinking man's psychopath," says Connington. "It has a certain humor and it might offend some, but I hope not. It's for a young audience who's not afraid of edgy work."

Always drawn to the dark and quirky, Connington maintains it's essential for theatre to explore difficult subjects — "to boldly go where no man has gone before" is how he puts it. Not surprisingly, he hopes his show will have a future Off-Broadway or on the college circuit.

Remaining performances: Thu., Aug. 14, 9:30 p.m.; Fri., Aug. 15, 5:15 p.m.; Sun., Aug. 17, 1 p.m.; Thu., Aug. 21, 7:15 p.m., at the Players Loft, 115 MacDougal St., NYC. www.zombienyfringe.com.