Imagine Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” music video paired with poodle skirts, prom dresses, and zombies. Is this a combination that is too good to be true? Not for the Iowa City Community Theatre.

In Zombie Prom — a retro and zany Grease meets Rocky Horror Picture Show — zombies and high school seem like a perfect fit that proves to be fun family entertainment.

The Off-Broadway show will grace, if that’s the word, the stage of the Johnson County Fairgrounds, 4265 Oak Crest Hill Road S.E., for its opening at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The musical will continue to show on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through Oct. 31. Admission is $8 for children, $13 for students and seniors, and $15 for adults.

Set in the late 1950s, Zombie Prom follows the story of two love-struck Enrico Fermi High students, Toffee and Jonny. Toffee’s family doesn’t approve of their relationship, because Jonny is from the wrong side of the tracks, and they pressure her to end the relationship. Then Jonny commits suicide by riding his motorcycle into a nuclear reactor. He returns as a teenage nuclear zombie, and he is determined to graduate and take Toffee to prom.

Delilah Strict, the overbearing high-school principal, does not want zombies in her school and bans Jonny. A reporter who has a history with Delilah is assigned to cover the incident. Jonny tries to win back his girlfriend, attempts to return to school with the help of his classmates, and hopes Delilah doesn’t cancel the prom.

Actor Chris Carpenter, who plays reporter Eddie Flagrante, said the musical is definitely a comedy.

“It’s about having a really good time and making people laugh,” he said. “[Zombie Prom] is a crazy, just-for-fun show, but it’s also about that time in the late-50s, early ’60s, when youth stopped being conformists and started standing up for themselves.”

UI graduate student Amanda Murray, who plays Toffee, also thinks the show definitely has a hidden meaning.

“There is a little shout-out to the 1950s, ’60s desegregation and acceptance of people who are different from you,” she said.

Director Jeff Shields described the show as light-hearted and fun, in addition to its educational value.

A wide array of musical genres contribute to the wacky entertainment of Zombie Prom. The music ranges from 1950s early rock ’n’ roll and Elvis-type songs to show tunes and gospel. With 22 songs in the show, most of which run together, Zombie Prom is nearly all music, giving it a very retro vibe.

“When I listened to the soundtrack, there wasn’t [a talk-over],” she said. “Then I found out there was one written in, and I got ridiculously excited.”

Accompanying the music are various dance numbers, including a tango between two cast members. A big dance number, similar to the one in the “Thriller” music video, ends the show.

“We’re fancy,” Murray said sarcastically about the choreography in the musical, something she said she’s not very coordinated with.

The wacky songs and big, fancy dance numbers blend together to make what Shields calls a “very cartoony show.”

“With this show, there really is no over-the-top,” he said. “It’s a show the cast can really have fun with.”

As with most shows, Zombie Prom has encountered a few setbacks. But the cast members haven’t let those stop them. Isaac Helgens, who plays high-school student Josh in the musical, broke his foot during rehearsal. Instead of finding a new actor, the producers found a way to incorporate a wheelchair into the production.

At present, zombies are very hip, Murray said, thanks to last month’s Zombie March and the movie Zombieland, released earlier this month.

“There’s this very sort of geeky under-culture zombie celebration right now,” she said.

For that reason, she believes the production will be popular among people who wouldn’t normally go to musicals.

Shields proposed producing the musical to the Community Theatre because it is something people don’t see very often.

“[Zombie Prom is] a show that the whole family could like,” he said. “It really does appeal to everyone.”

The timing of Zombie Prom’s showing is perfect, he said, especially because closing night is on Halloween.

“People are probably going to haunted houses, which they can do every year,” he said. “This will be something totally different you can do.”

Because of Halloween and the musical’s supernatural theme, the cast and crew encourage audience members to come dressed in costume. Carpenter said he would love it if there were an audience full of zombies, and, however they are dressed, people should come ready to have fun.

“How could you not want to see a show called Zombie Prom?” Carpenter said.