It’s not every day that an audience gets to witness a gory and hilarious cult franchise come to life onstage. Due to great popularity during its 2011 and 2012 productions, “Evil Dead, the Musical” is returning to the Valentine Theatre this October.
The show is based on the cult classics, Evil Dead, Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness. This trio premiered in 1981 and was directed by Sam Raimi, who later directed the Spiderman trilogy. The franchise’s use of comedy, mixed with gore and extremely creative camera work helped redefine the horror genre.
A little more than 20 years later, a group of young people in Toronto decided to adapt the movie into a musical. The musical made its premiere at Toronto’s Tranzac Club in 2003. Much like the movie it’s based upon, the musical became an instant hit shortly after it opened. Due to its enormous success, “Evil Dead, the Musical” made an off-Broadway debut in November 2006 and reached #4 on the Billboard Show Charts. Then in 2007, the musical opened again in Toronto where it became the longest running Canadian produced show in two decades. Since then, the show has been performed as far away as Tokyo, and as close as The Valentine Theatre.
Songs and gore
The story closely follows the original movies; five college-aged friends visit a deserted cabin in the woods where an evil force is accidentally set free. As the college students turn into demons one-by-one, it is left up to the chainsaw-wielding Ash to destroy his former friends. Like the movie, the Valentine’s showing will include a healthy amount of blood and gore, complete with a splash zone for the audience! Unlike the movie, however, musical numbers were written specifically for the show. These humorous songs include “All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed by Candarian Demons”, “Ode to an Accidental Stabbing”, and a few others that aren’t exactly appropriate for print.
The musical has adult language, some sexual innuendo, and a lot of gore—you will get bloody!—so the show is recommended for mature audiences.
Up close in the black box
“Evil Dead, the Musical” will be performed at The Valentine Theatre’s Studio A. According to Jori Jex, executive director of the Valentine, Studio A was made possible by a generous grant from the Anderson Foundation. “We were able to convert a large room that had been used for storage and rehearsals into an 80-seat black box intimate theatre,” she explained. A black box theatre is a performance space with a flat floor (no stage), black walls, and movable seating so that the theatre can be transformed for various productions.
“Evil Dead, the Musical” will open Friday, October 24 with two performances held each night, at 7pm and 10pm. Additional weekend shows will be performed through November 22. Jex states that one of the greatest difficulties in presenting this show is the clean-up. “We go through a lot of fake blood, and in the past we used a fragrant soap as the main ingredient. The theatre smells wonderful,” Jex said.
For horror fans, comedy fans, and fans of having a good time, “Evil Dead, the Musical” is sure to create an unforgettable night.
Performances every Friday and Saturday, now through November 22. General admission tickets are $20 and available at valentinetheatre.com, or via the box office
at 419-242-2787. Get your humorous horror at The Valentine Theatre, 410 Adams St.
