The first Salem Fine Arts musical performed in fifteen years, Zombie Prom, was shown on the first night of April in the Salem High School auditorium at 7:00 pm. The twenty-eight-person cast put in months of hard work to perform a show for everyone to enjoy.
“I feel really honored,” said senior Ava Saunders, who played the character Toffee. “I’ve wanted to do a show here since my freshman year, and it’s my hope that I am paving a legacy in our school.”
Echoing that sentiment of legacy, her co-star senior Reagan Ramsey, agreed that reviving musical theater was indeed a special experience.
“It feels really meaningful to be part of something that’s bringing musical theater back after so long,” says Ramsey, who played the character Jonny. “There’s definitely a sense of responsibility, but also a lot of excitement. Being in Zombie Prom made it even more fun because it’s such a unique and high-energy show, so it felt like the perfect way to reintroduce musicals at Salem.”
While the return of musical theater was exciting, the cast had to put in months of rigorous preparation to make it happen.
“The process involved way more time learning music than I thought,” said senior Hannah McMillin, who was part of the ensemble. “The first month was basically just learning music, which I found kinda boring, but I loved doing the choreography. It was very rewarding after you actually learned the stuff and saw everything come together.”
That dedication to the process was echoed by others in the cast, who found unique value in preparing for the show.
“While we started in December, time went by extremely fast. Faster than I honestly realized,” said junior Rosellen Marie Banks, who played Ms. Delilah Strict. “It was very different from how VPAA productions are set up, but it was interesting to work on. Additionally, a lot of us cast mates held practices outside of our regular rehearsal so that we would have more time to flesh things out. I thought being able to work with the cast as castmates was really effective at the end of the production.”
The cast’s camaraderie extended beyond just learning lines and music; it led to lasting bonds.
“The process of working on the show was very tedious with the limited time we had,” said Junior Ryan Pniewski, who played Joey. “But the people in it made it so much better. We all worked on set/prop designing together on the tech days, and it was always so much fun. We all became very close through it, some of us even developing some long-term friendships.”
Beyond the initial work, the actors faced the complex task of bringing the technical elements together.
“The process was intense but rewarding,” said Ramsey. “We started with learning the music and getting comfortable with the style, then moved into blocking and choreography. As rehearsals went on, we added costumes and props, which made everything feel more real. Backstage could get a little hectic with quick changes and timing cues, but everyone worked together really well. In the end, the cast figured everything out, which made performing even more fun.”
For some, this meant diving deeper into the technical and creative aspects of their roles.
“I would say the part of the process I enjoyed the most was when I got to do analysis work on my own,” said Banks. “In the theatre strand, we analyze our characters to give them motivation, and outlining who Delilah Strict was a character was extremely interesting to me. I got to develop certain things about her that I might not have without the time to process. Special mention, though, to the costume process. That has always been my favorite aspect of tech in theatre since it helps me fully get into character.”
While the creative process was rewarding, the cast faced significant hurdles in bringing this production to life.
“The biggest challenge was working with a majority of beginners,” said Saunders. “Many of us had no idea how to put on a show at this level, especially because it was the first one in 15 years.”
Learning the nuances of theatrical cues and timing also proved to be a major struggle for the cast.
“The biggest challenge I had was cues,” said McMillin. “Due to being an ensemble member I didn’t have a real role, but we went on stage a lot, so getting all the cues down was a bit of a challenge.”
Ultimately, the tight three-month schedule was a major factor in the pressure they felt.
“I think the biggest challenge when working on the show was the time we had, ” said Pniewski. “It felt like we didn’t have enough time to really go through and thoroughly pick out all the problems. If we maybe had a couple more weeks, the show would have been much better and more refined than it was.”
While the cast faced hurdles with timing and inexperience, the challenge of breathing life into the production extended to the stage where actors had to fully immerse themselves in high-energy, complex roles.
“My biggest challenge was fully committing to the character of Jonny,” said Ramsey. “Since he’s a crazy zombie and also, well, a boy, I had to push myself to go all in with the acting, movement, and energy while still singing, hitting cues correctly, and using male-like mannerisms.”
After three months of intense dedication, the cast of Zombie Prom did more than just put on a show. They paved the way for the future of musical theater at Salem High School. The successful opening night of the show marked a turning point for the arts here at Salem, overcoming a fifteen-year hiatus. By tackling the challenges of a tight schedule and inexperience, the twenty-eight-member cast established a lasting, high-energy legacy for the Salem Fine Arts program.
