Maelstrom - The Zombie Opera
A fast-paced, 90-minute hybrid of zombie movie, classical music, and stage dramedy.
Co-written with Reed Reimer, this spooky chamber piece will make you laugh, cringe in fear, laugh some more, and probably run home to watch every zombie movie and opera you can find afterwards. Maelstrom is scored for four singers, a handful of actors, piano, strings, and a moaning zombie chorus.
Synopsis
Expectant mother Anna is inside a cutting edge private hospital, receiving treatment for her mysterious, undiagnosed disease, when the entire complex locks her and her friends inside, leaving them at the mercy of the doctors, nurses, patients, and security guards who begin to act very strangely...
Sample Recordings
Want more? Click here to check out the Maelstrom album!
Press
“Reminiscent of Verdi, Beethoven, and Zeppelin. It’s darn funny, it’s dramatic, it’s bloody gruesome.”
“The best event I saw this year.”
“Squee!”
“A delicious 90 minutes of high concept pandemonium. [Reimer and Larson] took cues from sources as diverse as Schoenberg and Danny Elfman, while nevertheless creating a unified, eerily atmospheric sonic landscape.”
“One of the most innovative pieces of theater I have seen from PSU, either through the student group TASO or the department itself.”
“A serious piece of music.”
“Very subtle, very smart, very clever. The more I think about it, the more I wish I could see this again.”
Interested in performing or producing Maelstrom?
Photo Gallery
Below are photos from past productions of Maelstrom.
Production History
2009 - Theater Arts Student Organization (TASO) and Student Opera at PSU (SOAP) in Portland, Oregon.
2015 - Kitsap Fringe Opera in Kitsap, Washington.
2016 - Opera Bend in Bend, Oregon.