Try the scratch test with your fingernail on a low branch. If there is green showing, then it is alive. You can certainly prune it down as well, if it has survived, when you're sure all danger of frost os over.

Yes, prune it back - should be pruned back severely every year end of March or early April, in much the same way as Buddleia davidii. Keep a close watch though - I've often found, once the shrub has died (they're not long lived plants), one or two seedlings pop up nearby.