‘EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL’ is a bloody hoot at BeckTo really appreciate ‘EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL,’ now in production at Beck Center, you should probably be perverse, have a warped sense of humor, enjoy getting squirted with blood and are willing to see body parts being separated from the human body. Yep, that’s what ‘EVIL DEAD’ is all about.
Plot? Oh, come on. Hummable music? Be serious. This is about gore! Oh, did I mention, this is one perverse musical? And, did I also state, “It is a hoot!”
‘EVIL DEAD’ is the kind of production, which is a cult builder. In fact, in its short run here, there are people who already have come back to see every performance. There have been, it is rumored, a couple of guys who drove down from Toronto, where the show just closed, to continue their viewing pleasure.
People fight to sit in stage right seats A 9 & 10 so they can get full streams of blood squirted on their “EVIL DEAD’ t-shirts (which are available for sale in the lobby). And those who don’t get enough of the red stuff, roll on the sopping wet red covered floor after the performance to make sure that they are properly blood soaked!
Created by the Canadian team of George Reinblatt, Christopher Bond, Frank Cipolla and Melissa Morris, each of whom must be walking a psychologically ill tightrope, the show had a weird path to success. After a workshop in Toronto in 2004, an off-Broadway production ran over a year. Then the show reopened in Toronto on May 1, 2007 and kept getting extended and extended. Now there are productions all over the globe.
If you are still reading this review…here’s what the whole thing is about.
Several college students spend the weekend in an abandoned cabin in the woods, accidentally unleashing an evil terror. Characters and demons sing and dance to such ditties as “Blew the Bitch Away,” “Bit Part Demon,” “What The ??? Was That?,” “All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed by Canadarian Demons.” If you are saying, “You are making up those titles.” Come on, could I make up such sickness?
The Beck production, under the warped direction of Scott Spence, is fun. The creative choreography by Martin Céspedes increases the hysteria. Add Don McBide’s funky set, Larry Goopaster’s over the top music, and Jenniver Sparano’s perverted costumes, and you have the full warped package.
The very talented Dan Folino plays Ash, the handsome “hero” who tries to insure us in his song, “I’m Not a Killer,” that he is a good guy. Yeah, sure! Folino is also responsible for the perverse special effects (along with P. J. Toomey). Yep, the severed hand, the squirting blood, the singing moose that gets shot, the female breast that gets severed, the head that somehow “accidentally” no longer is connected to a body. I could go on, but all this has to be seen to be realized.
The rest of the cast waivers from good to okay, but the quality of the acting and singing matters little, it’s the overall effect that is important. And the Beck production is long on effect.
CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: If you want to go to the theatre and have a great old time and escape from reality, see ‘EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL.” Great that is, if you have a strong stomach, a good sense of humor, and aren’t the up-tight type. Oh, you might want to buy a white t-shirt in the lobby before you go in so you can have a “bloody good” souvenir. And, don’t wear good clothes as they might get very red!
