You know, I got to thinking recently that’s it been ages since the last time I reviewed a Broadway Musical. I shall have to rectify that.
Okay, so I guess Evil Dead: The Musical hasn’t quite made it to the actual, real Broadway; but it’s probably just as well. Those “real theatre” going people wouldn’t even begin to understand a play with a Splatter Zone (where you are guaranteed to get soaked in blood).
The show was absolutely hilarious. The acting was superb and all the songs were excellent. The story itself was kind of a mash up of the first two Evil Dead movies and it included several of Ash’s best one-liners from Army of Darkness (I don’t think it would have been any good at all without, “This…is my boomstick!”) There were also a few subtle inside jokes; at one point Cheryl sit down to read and she holds up Bruce Campbell’s autobiography, later on just after Annie gets off the plane she mentions that the in-flight movie was Spiderman 3 and it “was really poorly directed”.
All of the actors were very talented but Tyler Rive (Ash) was really exceptional. He seemed to be channeling Bruce Campbell. As well, Rebecca Northan did a very good job of playing two very different characters (Shelly and Annie) and when she tore off her skirt, her…talent really showed.
The songs were quite funny and upbeat. My two favorites were “Look Who’s Evil Now” performed by Cheryl and Shelly after they became possessed by Candarian Demons, and “All the Men in My Life (Get Killed By Candarian Demons)” performed by Annie, Ash and Jake as she laments her fate.
If this show come to a city anywhere near you, I urge you to run (don’t walk) right out and go see it. You won’t want to fail to not miss this, I assure you. Now I just have to see “Spamalot” and “Too Much Coffee Man – The Opera”.