Zombie the play adaptation program cover

''Zombie'' is a 1995

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

by American writer

Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and non-fiction. Her novels '' Bla ...

, which explores the mind of a

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

. It was based on the life of

Jeffrey Dahmer Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer (; May 21, 1960 – November 28, 1994), also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster, was an American serial killer and sex offender who killed and dismemberment, dismembered seventeen men and boys ...

. Dahmer stated in an interview with

Stone Phillips Stone Stockton Phillips (born December 2, 1954) is an American television reporter and correspondent. He is best known as the former co-anchor of ''Dateline NBC'', a news magazine TV series. He also has worked as a substitute anchor for ''NBC N ...

, "The only motive that there ever was to completely control a person, a person I found physically attractive, and keep them with me as long as possible, even if it meant keeping a part of them."

Plot

The protagonist, Quentin P, seeks to create a

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...

out of an unsuspecting young man. He intends to find a perfect young male companion and re-wire his brain, thereby turning the victim into a mindless

sex slave Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership right over one or more people with the intent of coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in sexual activities. This includes forced labor, reducing a person to a s ...

. His several attempts at creating a zombie, by doing improvised surgery on the victim's brain, all end in failure, however, as the men he abducts,

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

s and

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

s all die at his hands. By the end of the novel, he has begun to enjoy killing for its own sake. Adding to his frustrations is his increasingly suspicious family, particularly his father.

Awards

The book won the

Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since 1 ...

for Superior Achievement in a Novel. The play adaptation starring Bill Connington and directed by Tom Caruso won awards, including the

FringeNYC The New York International Fringe Festival, or FringeNYC, was a fringe theater festival and one of the largest multi-arts events in North America. It took place over the course of a few weeks in October, spread on more than 20 stages across seve ...

Overall Excellence Award for Outstanding Solo Show.

Play Adaptation

The solo play was first performed at the

New York International Fringe Festival The New York International Fringe Festival, or FringeNYC, was a fringe theater festival and one of the largest multi-arts events in North America. It took place over the course of a few weeks in October, spread on more than 20 stages across seve ...

, and then opened at the Studio Theatre on Theater Row, on West 42nd Street in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The play was later produced live at

John Jay College The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts co ...

in New York City. The play starred Bill Connington as Quentin P., and was directed by Thomas Caruso. Joyce Carole Oates was present for a pre-show panel discussion alongside forensic psychologists and serial killer experts from John Jay College. She signed copies of her novel ''Zombie'' and '' A Fair Maiden''. The play was also performed at Burien Actors Theatre outside of Seattle via a live Zoom performance. The play was also adapted into a short film. All of the versions were performed by Bill Connington. The play adaption of ''Zombie'' received notable reviews from

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

, and

Variety Magazine ''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based ...

The New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

, and

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

Film Adaptation

The same team that created the play adaptation of ''Zombie'', created a 19-minute short film that premiered in 2010 and was screened at 21 film festivals, including

Cleveland International Film Festival The Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) is an annual film festival based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the largest film festival in Ohio. It was first held in 1977, showing eight films over a period of eight weeks at the Cedar Lee Theatre. It ...

, and

Boston International Film Festival The Boston International Film Festival is a film festival in the United States held in Boston, Massachusetts which showcases over 90 films annually. Established in 2003 by film producer Patrick Jerome, the festival features independent films from ...

. The film won 5 awards including "Best Short Film (Horror)" at the

Washington DC Independent Film Festival The DC Independent Film Festival (DCIFF) is a film festival in Washington, D.C. Launched in 1999, DCIFF exhibits features, animation, shorts and documentaries from around the world, focusing on cutting-edge ideas, new visions and advances in the c ...

, "Best Director" "Best Short Dramatic Screenplay" and "Best Supporting Actor" at the Terror Film Festival in Philadelphia, and "Best First Time Director" at the

California Film Awards California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

References

1995 American novels Novels by Joyce Carol Oates American novels adapted into films American novels adapted into plays American horror novels American zombie novels Novels about serial killers Dutton Penguin books Works about Jeffrey Dahmer American LGBT novels Novels with gay themes LGBT-related horror literature Novels about necrophilia Bram Stoker Award for Novel winners {{1990s-LGBT-novel-stub