The Zombies of Penzance

Gilbert and Sullivan's The Zombies of Penzance, or At Night Come the Flesh Eaters, never made it to stage during the duo's lifetimes. The musical was rejected by their publisher, so they reluctantly rewrote it as The Pirates of Penzance. The original was lost to history — until, that is, St. Louis-based theater impresario Scott Miller found a few sections of the original score and libretto. With composer John Gerdes, he has reconstructed a version of The Zombies of Penzance. Major-General Stanley is a retired zombie hunter, and when a coterie of zombies arrive in the neighborhood he forbids any of his many daughters from marrying even a single one. Is the old man going to be forced out of retirement and back into the head-crushing game? Find out when New Line Theatre presents The Zombies of Penzance. Shows are at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday (September 27 to October 20) at the Marcelle Theater (3310 Samuel Shepard Drive; www.newlinetheatre.org). Tickets are $20 to $30.