ZM

ZM is playing The Marcelle through October 24, with performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, all at 8 PM. It's the American premiere of a new meta-musical by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis, the Tony winners behind Urinetown (2007, 2022) and Yeast Nation (2018), and it opens New Line Theatre's 35th season. The show is a darkly comic fable set in an American small town where a fast-food chain's new chicken sandwich turns customers into zombies, forcing two teenage employees to infiltrate corporate headquarters. Hollmann and Kotis describe it as weirder than traditional musical theatre.

The pair began developing the piece during a five-day writers' retreat in 2013, and it's taken over a decade to reach this stage. Its first fully produced version premiered in Spanish in Mexico City in 2024, so this is the first full English production. It also fits a specific New Line streak: the company has a thing for zombie musicals, with Night of the Living Dead (2013) and The Zombies of Penzance (2018) coming before this one.

The production features music and lyrics by Mark Hollmann, with a book and lyrics by Greg Kotis. It's directed by Scott Miller and Chris Moore, with music direction by Jason Eschhofen and choreography by Livy Potthoff. The cast is all-local, including John Lucas as Barnabas Young, Adeline Hudelson as Mercy Rider, and Kenya Devine. On performance nights, the bar sells a signature cocktail called 'Live Human Flesh.'

Tickets are $35 for adults, $30 for seniors, and $25 for students. The show runs through October 24, with performances on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, all starting at 8 PM. The Marcelle is at 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive in the Grand Center Arts District.