Soul Samurai: The Best of Vampire-Slaying and Interracial Loving
by Jenn Kim
When The Brian and I were nerding it up at New York Comic-Con, he told me the theater company Vampire Cowboys would be making an appearance. I thought to myself, “Who is this intriguing group? Are they vampires who think of themselves as cowboys? Or cowboys who enjoy the occasional blood-sucking session, like Riley in season 5 of Buffy?” (He was so my least favorite boyfriend.)
Either way, I was pretty much sold on the name alone because…I’ve always kinda had a thing for vampires. Not in a weird way, it’s just…they’re interesting and dangerous. They’re sexy and pale. They’re evil, but still cognizant and capable of rational thought (unlike zombies, those creepy bastards…) And they remember their past life prior to their vampire-dom, so they can be especially manipulative toward old friends who still hold on to who they were before. (And the whole concept of “vampire with a soul” is hot; I mean, who didn’t think Angel was the epitome of “sexy dangerous guy who was really good underneath but has a heartbreakingly tortured soul you just want to save”? If it weren’t for the whole not being able to have sex because he turns evil when he experiences ultimate pleasure thing, he’d totally be the perfect guy. Not to mention Spike wasn’t even cursed with a soul, but CHOSE to go out and get one for Buffy, meaning he really kind of had a soul already if he was capable of such deep and genuine sacrifice. Sigh. Vampires are so complex.)
I digress. So it turns out that Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company is an awesome, award winning theatre group that combines “stage combat and dark comedy with a comic book aesthetic.” Intriguing, right? Their most recent show, in association with the Ma-Yi Theater Company, is Soul Samurai, which follows the story of Dewdrop, the tough, totally kick-ass Asian American female and native New Yorker who sets out to avenge the murder of her long-time lover and soulmate, Sally December. Five years prior, the Long Tooths (the nastiest gang of vampires you’ll ever not encounter in the city) had attacked and dragged Sally away, while Dewdrop looked on helplessly from the inside of her car. Today, Dewdrop is anything but helpless, as she and her lovable sidekick Cert take down the leader of the Long Tooths in Brooklyn, and face-off with more bloodthirsty vampires on their dangerous journey back home to Manhattan.
Soul Samurai is an inventive, inspired show that seamlessly incorporates many unique mediums of art, such as martial arts, puppetry and digital shorts. The fight choreography is both graceful and ruthless, the dialogue is racially charged and clever (not to mentioned littered with curses), and the overall tone and style are blaxploitation/’70’s funk at its finest. Yet the strongest and most compelling parts of Soul Samurai are its themes of love and loyalty, along with its electric, racially diverse cast. Maureen Sebastian plays Dewdrop with just the right balance of strength, defensive anger and vulnerability, while Bonnie Sherman’s portrayal of the white but “culturally charismatic” Sally December is both hilarious and heartbreaking. Sheldon Best and Jon Hoche perform laudably as Boss2K and Grandmaster Mack, while Paco Talson emerges as the true audience favorite with his depiction of Cert, the endearingly goofy and steadfastly loyal sidekick to Dewdrop.
Soul Samurai delivers the perfect combination of funk, vampire-ass-kicking, and bittersweet romance, leaving you with the itching desire to find your soulmate and fight vampires on their behalf.
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About Jenn Kim: When she’s not questioning her decision to enter lawyer-hood-dom, Jenn enjoys stalking celebrities and getting over her totally rational fear of zombies. She also idolizes Joss Whedon, and is crossing her fingers that Nathan Fillion and NPH will accept her friend requests.
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OMG, I AM SO GLAD YOU SAW AND REVIEWED THIS SHOW! I wanted to so much and I hadn't had a chance.
Re: "not in a weird way"
There IS no "weird way" to like vampires.
haha so TRUE.
I couldn't stand Riley either. SO boring, and SO vanilla.
another great production by those vampy ass cowboys! but u forgot to mention the best part of the show: Cert channelling his inner MJ and moonwalking offstage. if there is a better theater company out there, i surely don't know it.. c'mon, the last show of theirs I saw had Rosencrantz and Gilderstern doing the Thriller dance. Genius!
You should check out Nosedive Productions and Stone Soup Theater Arts. Two other awesome theater companies in NYC. They run in the same circles as Vampire Cowboys, so there's lots of "cross-pollination" with actors and creative teams and such. Also, they both have plays coming up this spring. Not sure if they're incorporating the Thriller dance, though….