Last night (10/18/2014) I had the pleasure of going to see Evil Dead The Musical a the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. How was it? The only word that comes to mind that can possibly give it justice is "Groovy!". You won't get that unless you're an Evil Dead fan.
In case you're not familiar with The Evil Dead, it was originally a 1981 movie written and directed by Sam Raimi and starring the incomparable Bruce Campbell. It broke a shit ton of boundaries for the American horror genre. The movie follows a group of kids who stumble upon an ancient book called the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, or Book of the Dead, while vacationing in a cabin deep within the rural Tennessee woods. Everything goes well until they find and tape recorder and subsequently play that tape recorder of a Doctor reading a passage from the Book of the Dead that raises a bunch of demons from the ground. Chaos ensues and the kids are one by one overtaken, killed and possessed by the demons, turning them into zombies. Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) is our hero who weathers all this through all three movies of the Evil Dead franchise.
The movie is full of campy, funny goodness as well as a fuck ton of gore and guts. It's brilliant! Many people pan the film due to it's goofiness and absurdity, but the true fans and lover of the horror genre praise it. Evil Dead The Musical captures the same campy fun and low-budget realness of the films with the added joy of dance routines and musical numbers!
Though it mimics the original, that says nothing for the talent and production behind this musical. It's absolutely fantastic! You can tell that this is a labor of love and the cast and crew are having a blast! The Musical follows the same plot of the original movie, but shakes it up a bit by adding comedy and blatant jabs at the ridiculous story line. If you're an Evil Dead fan, you'll also have the added bonus of a ton of inside jokes that poke fun of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. The actors were phenomenal, and you could tell they were enjoying every minute. I love that there was real, legit talent behind such a fantastically fun and absurd musical based on an equally fun and absurd movie.
The musical was originally performed in Toronto, Canada in 2003. It became an instant hit, and moved to an off-Broadway run in 2006. It was written by George Reinblatt for his musical theater class at Queen's University. It ultimately got the approval of Sam Raimi himself and Bruce Campbell and became one of the longest running Canadian productions of all time.
The production I saw had David Sajewich as Ash Williams. He was PERFECT!!! His voice, his look, he's acting, everything. He even has the mannerisms and facial expressions of Bruce Campbell from the original movies. I can't say enough good things about him. At the end of the show, he also personally thanked the audience and was very charismatic and approachable. The rest of the cast did a fantastic job, including Julie Baird, Ryan Czerwonko, Andrew Di Rosa, Callie Johnson, Jessica Kingsdale, Ryan McBride, Creg Sclavi and Demi Zaino. They all have the chops to be in any musical of their choice. I love them all! I hope they come back with the exact same actors and crew next year!
The musical definitely has a Rocky Horror Picture Show vibe, but with a LOT more blood and gore! Speaking of blood, how can I talk about this musical without talking about the ACTUAL blood that spatters on the audience? Due to a screw-up on my end, I was unable to sit in the Splatter Zone. It's fine though! It was still fucking fabulous!
I think I've said all I can about this amazing piece of theater. It was absolutely phenomenal, and if you get the chance to see it, please do!
For more information on Evil Dead The Musical, please visit the links below:
Official Site
Buy Tickets
To see upcoming shows at TPAC, please visit www.tpac.org
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