Evil Dead The Musical
If you’re a fan of Broadway musicals or if you’ve been on the streets of New York City or London lately, then you know that nowadays you can make a musical out of anything, no matter how off the wall the idea is. From Beetlejuice, to Spider-Man, to the life and times of Cher, no license or intellectual property is off limits. But did you know that there is even an Evil Dead musical? Well then, let’s enter that notorious cabin in the woods and find out more about this zany show that has been running all over the world for over fifteen years.
Whenever I proudly wear my Evil Dead The Musical tee shirt, I more than likely get one or two different responses from bystanders: a.) The “Is that a real thing or just a goof,” question, or the “Holy shit, how was that!?” inquiry. In fact, when I was at this year’s Halloween Horror Nights just a few weeks ago, I had no less than three different people make similar comments as I made the rounds from house to house that night. Having seen it three times at that point, I decided instead to reply with, “Hey, did you know there’s a production happening the next few weeks up in Clermont?” with the hope that maybe I could convince even one of those persons to go and check it out for themselves. There’s nothing in it for me, of course. I’m not involved in any of the productions, nor do I have any friends or family in any of the shows. I’m just a fan. But the showing we caught up in that little sleepy town just northeast of metro Orlando was to be our fourth time taking in the musical that originated in the Great White North way back in 2003.
That’s right, Evil Dead The Musical got its start in the back of a tiny bar in Toronto over fifteen years ago when a group of friends and diehard fans of the original films, who also had the musical chops to put it all together, dreamed up the idea and put on a production to anyone who would line up at the bar to see it. It has become a cult classic, much like the films that spawned it, ever since. Any theatre group or high school drama class can get licensing to produce the musical right from the main website, which has led to a bevy of unique productions being put on all over the globe. We got our first taste back in 2011 when a local troupe here in town but on two weeks’ worth of shows. We had so much fun the first time, we brought along some friends to another show a week later.
The musical consists of two acts separated by an intermission, with each act running just around forty-five minutes or so. The story focuses predominantly on the first two films in the franchise, since the third film was still embroiled in legal battles with Universal back in the early 2000’s when the musical first came into being. However, the two films aren’t presented in a straightforward linear fashion, but rather are kind of co-mingled in their presentation on stage.
The show achieved fast popularity mainly due to the inclusion of a “Splash Zone” that usually consists of the first three or four rows. As it is a musical based on a B horror film that was known for some of the most classic gore scenes of the time, you can imagine what goes on in the splash zone. Depending on the production and the budget, fake blood blasted at audience members in the splash zone can come by way of anything from hydraulic cannons strategically placed around the stage and aimed at the audience or by way of a few stagehands strategically placed behind the patrons and just squirting fake blood from water rifles at specific intervals during the show. Some productions will even equip the loyal attendees with either vinyl ponchos or souvenir tee shirts to don during the show so as not be liable for any permanent stains that may occur afterwards. The wife and I have never personally had the courage to sit in the splash zone, but during a tour of the original cast, we did sit in one row behind the splash zone and were still spared any of the sticky mess.
But why do all of us attend a musical in the first place? Well, the catchy show tunes of course, and Evil Dead is no different in that category. Staying true to the campiness of the source material, Evil Dead The Musical contains such toe tappers as, “What the Fuck was That!?” show opener, “Cabin in the Woods,” big budget dance number, “Do the Necronomicon,” and finale piece, “Blew that Bitch Away.” I assure you after the first viewing, you’ll be humming these on the way home and seek out the soundtrack once you get there. Yes, there is an official soundtrack sung by the original Broadway cast (actually, off-Broadway) available at most online music retailers. The thing I like most about the soundtrack’s twenty-five plus tracks, is that they include short snippets from some of the more entertaining lines of dialogue from the production as well.
As I stated earlier, depending on the budget, venue, and crew putting it all together, every experience can be a little different. When we saw it the first two times at this little theatre in the arts district, the stage had a little section that jutted out, like a runway, from the main stage. So, when there were scenes that took place in the forest, the cast would make their way onto this runway, while stagehands would roll out some tree structures behind them as the performers would act their lines. There’s also a crucially important role of both Ash’s sister, Cheryl, and the cellar in which she inhabits. In the first experience, the small theatre actually was equipped with a raised enough stage and crawl space, that the crew only needed to carve out a small trapdoor from which Cheryl could pop out from for some of the best one liners in the whole production. On the other hand, our most recent viewing in Clermont was a much smaller scale undertaking, with steps leading up to more of the landing built on top of the stage to provide that same necessary cellar door from which Cheryl needed to appear frequently from. Both were different, but achieved the same result. Of course, when we saw the original cast’s touring production back in 2014 at the impressive Straz Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Tampa, they went all out, blood cannons and everything!
But that’s what will keep us going back time after time and in different cities. Sure, the songs and plot will always hold true, but the unique flair that each troupe brings to the production will always be worth the price of admission alone. Even current events can affect the shape of some aspects of the show, as in our most recent viewing, when backwoods inhabitant, Jake, quips cleverly on receiving “fake news” from one of the other characters, a joke that surely wouldn’t have even existed just a short time ago. Even the program booklet provided by The Moonlight Players Clermont production had a nice little unique detail to it as well: an original illustration by comic book great and nearby resident, George Pérez, whom also donates money to each production put on by the Moonlight Players at their warehouse theater.
So, if you ever get the chance to catch Evil Dead The Musical in your town (a frequently updated list of productions happening across the globe can be found on the official website for the musical at EvilDeadTheMusical.com ) I highly recommend you do. Whether you’re a fan of Raimi’s original films or musicals in general, I assure you, there will be fun had by all. And you will be humming those tunes all the way home.
*Due to the prohibited use of cameras throughout the show, some of the pictures displayed here are from other promotional materials from other productions.
Want to keep up to date on the site? Just subscribe to our newsletter HERE
Want more spooky trips? Just search below:
