SHELDON'S SCENESTER FILES

Evil Dead – The Musical
Location: Diesel Playhouse, 56 Blue Jays Way, Toronto, Ontario
Contact:  www.evildeadthemusical.com  416.971.5656
Price:  $10 - $59 (Splatter zone)

When I was talking to KrisKool from HouseAddict about doing a double date so my wife could finally see a Toronto musical, I was sort of expecting something along the lines of Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables or even CATS.  Unfortunately, none of these were playing, so we looked for other musicals Kris suggested My Fair Lady, and a couple of chic-flics-gone-broadway and finally suggested one that caught my attention:  Evil Dead – The Musical *cue evil epic music*.

I hadn’t been to many musicals—my only experience being The Phantom of the Opera back in high school, so I had relatively little idea what to expect.  My first pleasant surprise was to discover you could take beer and snacks to your seat!  My second more pleasant surprise was waitresses came directly to your seat (there was even a little table) and took your order—and brought your beverage and snack directly to you!  We quickly ordered a pitcher of beer nachos and popcorn for our small group of four.

Looking around the theatre, I’d say it sat a couple hundred people.  An array of lighting equipment dashed the ceiling and a stage projected out into the crowd a little in a semi-circle.  I had read online prior the very front row, set apart from the general crowd, was called “the splatter zone.”  What could be cooler than going to Evil Dead the Musical and getting splattered by cinematic blood?  The front row was filled—we were at a small table just behind them.

The show started out epic—with an oversized book, the fabled Necromicon, front and centre and an evil voice intoning narration over the speakers.  The mood was dark and evil—but I won’t give away the story line not even vaguely.

The show progressed and I was laughing out loud in spite of myself.  Evil Dead – The Musical is definitely not intended for kids, as the show has a fair dash of profanity as well as massive amounts of sexual innuendo the crowd thoroughly enjoyed. Part of what makes the show so endearing is that it absolutely refuses to take itself seriously.  The characters poke fun at themselves, the show, their situations and popular culture the entire way through and it never gets old. 

Constantly laughing and enjoying the scene, the intermission came with loud applause.  More beer, more snacks!  After a washroom break we reseated ourselves and saw staff handing all of those rain slickers—like the kind you would get on a Maid of the Mist ride at Niagara Falls.  I guess we hadn’t seen too much blood in the first act—but obviously that was about to change.

For those Evil Dead fans, be assured The Musical, while departing from the original story line, pays tribute to the Evil Dead characters, and even references the original movies.
The second scene opens up with Ash, the main character, taking a chain saw to his undead girlfriend (holy hot!  Too bad she’s undead!).  “Die, dieeeeeee!” he sings soulfully to the crowd. It’s a moving scene that would bring Hitler to tears.  The second act sees Ash clear through a plethora of zombies, more Necromicon incantations and scantily clad ladies.  Oh—and lots of blood.  Lots!  Blood is sprayed, splattered and hurled from zombie bodies and severed limbs off into the crowd until it is literally dripping from the ceiling.  I had to duck several times behind my wife to save myself from getting hit (What?  I was wearing white. Come on.). 

I have to take a moment to comment on the set design of the log cabin, and the lighting.  I was surprised at the level of detail, and little ‘extras’ built into the set that caught us off guard.  The lighting was very effective as they were able to change the mood of the stage in a moment, from daylight to evil dead light.

The show closed with a roar of applause and we were all sorry to see it end.  The running time is a couple of hours with intermission—just long enough.

I highly recommend this show to those who don’t want to take life seriously for a couple hours.  Sit back, grab a beer and get ready to laugh.  This show certainly doesn’t disappoint.

sheldon@scenestermag.com
© Scenester Magazine Inc. 2008