Evil Dead: The Musical

As a teenage metalhead, I sought out and ravenously absorbed any and all things Lovecraft, after being turned onto his works by the haunting "The Call of Ktulu" and "The Thing That Should Not Be": two stellar Metallica songs written during their early years, before they turned into radio-friendly cry-core. 

The majority of Lovecraft's work dealt with everyday people who become tangled up with forces of darkness beyond the realm of human imagination.  In fact,  according to Lovecraft, the true nature of reality is so inconceivably evil that to bear witness to it when it manages to push through into this world will drive men horribly mad.  Although most of these forces have been banished, or at least temporarily exiled, they can still be summoned and controlled through the Necronomicon, or "Book of The Dead", a volume bound in human flesh and believed to be long lost for centuries.

It is this book, along with a tape recorder, that Ash and his friends encounter when they break into an old cabin in the woods during their summer vacation.  As they play the tape back, they learn that whoever recorded it was an historian/researcher reciting spells from the Necronomicon.  And this, quite literally, is when all Hell breaks loose. 

Although "Evil Dead: The Musical" takes some liberties with the original script, it maintains that element of dark, tongue-in-cheek comedy and over-the-top absurdity that made the trilogy worth repeated views.  I've seen them all at least a hundred times, but haven't been able to watch them since meeting my wife, who hates horror movies.  As we were driving to the Vogue for opening night of the musical, I tried to explain to her the subtle genius of Bruce Campbell's role as Ash, and the brilliant, budget-restrained special effects and directing by Sam Raimi (who went on to direct the Spiderman movies).  She looked like she was going to be sick.  There are some things that need to be seen to be truly appreciated.

The moment the musical started with "Cabin In The Woods", featuring the five main characters driving off to, obviously, the cabin in the woods, it was clear that the magic of the movies had made a successful leap to the stage.  Accompanied by some hilariously in-your-face cheap special effects and a campy, saccharine soundtrack, "Cabin In The Woods" gave a clear indication that the cast, crew, and directors not only held a deep reverence for the films, but were willing to add their own comedic genius to their individual roles. 

Scotty (played by Kevin Corey), is the sex-starved, beer guzzling fratboy who's brought the ultra-bimbo Shelley along for a weekend of sex, beer, sex, and, time permitting, a hotdog or two (which of course means more sex).  Cailin Stadnyk, who plays Shelley, not only has two fantastic parts (ahem) in this musical, she also plays two roles: the squeaky-voiced Shelley, and later, the assertive Annie, the daughter of the professor who owns the cabin.  Tagging along on the trip is Ash's sister, Cheryl (Jamie Tognazzini), Ash's girlfriend Linda (Lynley Hall), and of course, our hero, Ash (Tyler Rive).

After another inspired use of special effects to cross the bridge (the ONLY way to the cabin), a quick scene change brings us to the wonderfully rendered living room of the cabin.  As the group explores the cabin, they discover a trapdoor leading to the basement, where they find some interesting things: a shotgun, a tape recorder, and a creepy old book (Necronomicon Ex Mortus-roughly translated, "The Book Of The Dead").  The rest, as you may guess, is history.

One by one the characters are transformed into Candarian demons.  First to go is Cheryl, who as fans of the movie will recall, has an unfortunate encounter with some trees in the woods after a brilliantly choreographed chase scene.  Upon transformation, she is thrown into the basement, where she will continue to harass, torment, and mess with the survivors until they "JOIN US". 

Meanwhile, the professor's daughter Annie (also played by Cailin Stadnyk) and her hapless boyfriend Ed (Guilly Urra) are making their way to the cabin, only to discover the bridge has been destroyed.  However, they encounter a backwoods mechanic named Jake (Bruce Horak) who promises to lead them to the cabin. Although every cast member has added their own personal touch to the characters, the writers of this production have added some hilarious nuances to these three that were only hinted at in the movie.  Poor Ed can't get a word in edgewise against the overbearing Annie, and Jake delivers a highlight performance by introducing himself with the song "Good Ol' Reliable Jake".

The three arrive at the cabin to discover Ash amidst the unfolding carnage, and the scene is set for Act Two.  An intermission that feels like an eternity gives my stomach muscles a chance to relax.  I haven't laughed this hard in years.

So far, the first six rows (or "Splatter Zone") has only seen a few "bursts" of activity.  This is about to change.

The mayhem continues in Act Two, and the laughs, gore, guts and blood don't let up for a second.   The production pays great tribute, not only to the movies, but to Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi with some subtle inside jokes that die-hard fans will truly appreciate.  The special effects, props, music, and lighting are all top-notch, and there are a few scenes that genuinely scare you out of your seat.  My only complaint (because I HAVE to pick something apart) is that the music for the song and dance routines was somewhat muffled and overpowered by the vocals.  The sound system in the Vogue is fantastic: please tell the soundman to crank it up a bit.

That said, the effects used to create the "evil dead" voice, and the ghostly voice of Professor Knowby (another brilliant visual) sounded awesome, and the entire production team should give themselves a "hand".  Speaking of which, whoever played the role of Ash's hand (particularly the "shocking" scene after grabbing Annie's butt) deserves a Tony Award.  Seriously.  I was crying from that gag.

The songs are hysterical, the choreography is fantastic (particularly the "salad" maneuver during "Do The Necronomicon"), and the effects are a riot, even when they're obviously not big-budget.

Although we are introduced to all the onstage characters by the end of Act One, there is one character who we'll just call "Moose" (Daniel Mallett) who provides some gut-busting lines from behind the scenes.  When I go see this show again, I'll wipe that stupid confused look off my face and give him a holla when he comes onstage at the end of the show.

Now, I'm not big on awarding stars or trying to rate this show out of a scale of 10, so let me leave it at this:  my wife LOVED it.  She said you don't have to be a fan of the movies to enjoy it, as it's pretty self-explanatory and truly funny on its own. 

As an added testament to the show's awesomosity, she's even willing to watch the Evil Dead trilogy after seeing this.

Groovy.