ZJU resurrects Urban Death – followed by Mother & The Bogeyman
This weekend, Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre resurrects its signature show, Urban Death – a ghastly conglomeration of grim vignettes that flash across the stage like fragments of half-forgotten nightmares. This is the original,* longer version of the show; a condensed form with a walkthrough maze runs every Halloween as Urban Death: Tour of Terror. The longer version does not include a walkthrough.
In its longer form, Urban Death may be surprising even for those familiar with the Halloween version, which at least for its first few years was slightly toned down to accommodate seasonal audiences who might not have been prepared for the show’s deliberately provocative horrors. Urban Death mixes nudity and sexuality with violence to push boundaries in uncomfortable ways. That’s not all there is to it; the show also features subtle shivers and black comedy. However, the adult aspects tend to be more pronounced in the non-Halloween version.
Urban Death runs Fridays and Saturdays from April 26 to May 11. There will be two performances per night of the 45-minute experience, starting at 8:30m and 10:30pm. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door.
ZJU Theatre has two more horror shows scheduled next month: Mother and The Bogeyman. The former, described as an “extreme horror experience, arrives on May 12 for one night only with performances running every 45 minutes from 6pm through 10:30pm. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Up next, The Bogeyman promises a “blindfolded plunge into a twisted dreamscape,” with shows on May 18-19 and 25-26, starting at 8pm, 8:45pm, 9:30pm, and 10:15pm. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Both are restricted to ages 18 and over.
Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre is located at 4850 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood. For more information, visit zombiejoes.com.
Footnote:
- By “original,” we mean first. Each iteration of Urban Death typically swaps in new vignettes, so we are not saying that the current production recreates the show as it was originally stage.
