'Walking Dead' Television Show Impacts Theater and Fashion

DEAD SEXY, The Walking Dead Fan Guide (Riverdale Avenue Books)

By A.D. AMOROSI

Walking Dead fans are having the best week ever. Sunday night’s season four premiere earned the TV show its highest ratings with 16.1 million viewers. For fashion lovers there's Paula Conway's new book, DEAD SEXY: The WALKING DEAD Fan Guide to Zombie Style, Beauty, Parties, and a Ghoul-Lurching UNlifestyle, published this week by Riverdale Avenue Books. Meanwhile, theater-goers can see the work of playwright Danai Gurira, the actress behind The Walking Dead’s mysterious character "Michonne," during the Philly run of her play The Convert at the Wilma Theater, October 16 through November 10.

The Walking Dead’s fourth season didn’t just start with its usual bloodshed and gore. The series started with a bang, as Sunday’s 16.1 ratings-buster easily topped its own records (season three’s finale brought in 12.4 viewers) to become the highest-rated episode in the AMC hit's history. That certainly sets the stage for fans of the series to celebrate all things zombie-esque with Riverdale Avenue Books' new  DEAD SEXY: The WALKING DEAD Fan Guide to Zombie Style, Beauty, Parties, and a Ghoul-Lurching UNlifestyle ($9.99 at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com). Paula Conway’s DEAD SEXY showcases special offers on fashion, travel, housewares and party-goods for fans of the zombie apocalypse, and presents some of the finest doom-and-gloom related wares on the market (full disclosure: one of the items featured is a pair of Skull Earrings designed by our editor, Glamorosi). DEAD SEXY is currently out as an e-book, and will be available in print shortly through Ingram Publisher Services.

Zimbabwean-American actress Danai Gurira can usually be found wielding a samurai sword in her role as The Walking Dead's ultimate zombie slayer, Michonne. Theater aficionados know another side of Gurira, the serious playwright whose most recent work, The Convert, portrays her heritage while revealing the strife in 1895’s post-colonial Zimbabwe. The truly gripping three hour drama raced by as it told the tale of native religions considered “savage” to British-raised black Christians looking to bring Jesus to southern Africa. The story centers on “Jekesai” (Nancy Moricette), a Zimbabwe native who escapes a forced marriage with the help of “Chilford” (Irungu Mutu), a missionary who brings Christianity and the English language to Jekasai. Like many of the townfold that Chilfors attempts to minister, Jekesai still feels the pull of her ancestors’ spirituality.  Gurira and the play’s director, Michael John Garces, were on hand for a post-show discussion to discuss how Gurira’s influences on The Convert (Ibsen, Shaw) and how her heritage effected every word of this stirring, violent drama. The Convert runs through November 10, at the Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St, Philadelphia, PA. For more info call 215.893.9456, or stop by WilmaTheater.org. 

L to R - Michael John Garces, Danai Gurira, Walter Bilderback

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DEAD SEXY book jacket courtesy Riverdale Avenue Books
Skull Earrings photo ©Glamorosi
Danai Gurira photo ©A.D. Amorosi for Glamorosi Magazine 2013