Evil Dead the Musical: The HD Tour – Book and Lyrics by George Reinblatt;Music by Frank Cipolla, Christopher Bond, Melissa Morris & George Reinblatt; Additional Lyrics by Christopher Bond; Additional Music by Rob Daleman; Based on characters created by Sam Raimi. Presented Roshi Entertainment in a special arrangement with Renaissance Pictures LTD & StudioCanal at the Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theatre, 539 Tremont St., Boston, through February 25
by Mike Hoban
Broadway has a history of turning pretty good movies into bad musicals. Think Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (ironically based on the 2002 Spider-Man movie by Sam Raimi, who also wrote and directed the Evil Dead movies on which Evil Dead the Musical is based) and too many others to count. But Off-Broadway had huge success turning a bad/campy horror movie into a stage success with Little Shop of Horrors. And while Evil Dead the Musical doesn’t quite reach those heights of artistic excellence, it’s a whacked-out good time – especially for fans of the cult classic movies.
Evil Dead the Musical takes elements from the movies “The Evil Dead,” “Evil Dead 2,” and “Army of Darkness” and mashes them up to create an “immersive” theatrical experience. By immersive, the producers essentially mean the ‘Splatter Zones’ where poncho-clad audience members in designated seating sections can expect to be splattered with fake blood as the cast members are stabbed, shot, or have body parts severed – in a fun (and pretty hilarious), not-overly-gory way.
If you’re not familiar with the Evil Dead series, the plot revolves around five college students – the story’s hero, Ash Williams, his sweet girlfriend Linda, his bookish little sister Cheryl, his dicky best friend Scott, and Scott’s new girlfriend/hookup, the dimwitted Shelley – who decide to spend their spring break in an abandoned cabin in the woods. After arriving, the gang hears a noise in the cellar, and when Ash and Scott investigate, they return with a tape recorder and a copy of an ancient book, the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis (also known as the Book of The Dead”. They play the tape recording of a professor (who discovered it on an archeological expedition) reciting passages from the book and unwittingly release an ancient evil force on their friends and the world.
Cheryl is the first to become possessed, and the rest soon follow, except Ash, who fights to save himself and presumably the world, taking out his possessed friends one by one in a gruesome fashion with a shotgun and chainsaw. The plot adheres fairly closely to the movie (I saw it decades ago and may have been stoned) but is enhanced with a very funny musical score that includes numbers like “Look Who’s Evil Now,” “All The Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed by Candarian Demons” and “What The F**k Was That?”
The story is fast-paced, with sight gags (including a well-executed re-enactment of Ash fighting with – and chopping off – his own hand), an homage to the Three Stooges, intentionally crappy special effects, minimal costuming, corny puns, and tons of pop culture references from the 80’s – and lots of stage blood. The production also benefits from a really cool digitized set, which allows scene changes to appear via an electronic background instead of set changes.
The cast is spirited, delivering impossibly dopey lines with conviction and aplomb, led by Brian Magee, a fine stand-in for the original movie Ash, Bruce Campbell. Christine Armenion is a wildly funny Cheryl, and Stuart Harmon is a scream as the stereotypical hillbilly “Old Reliable Jake.” The rest of the principal players (Phil Laks as Scotty, Sara Landry as Linda, and Tommi Lynn Silva as Shelly/Annie) are solid, committing wholeheartedly to the demented material.
You don’t have to be an Evil Dead devotee to enjoy the show, but it helps. There were folks in the audience who were clearly Evil Dead cult members, and my friend’s deep knowledge of the trilogy and the TV show Ash vs Evil Dead (2015-2018) certainly enhanced his experience. Either way, it’s a fun night out and much less horrifying than the nightly news. For tickets and information (tickets are selling fast), go to https://evildeadthemusical.com/
