I just saw Evil Dead - The Musical at the Diesel Playhouse in downtown Toronto. I will note up front that I'm not particularly an Evil Dead fan. I saw the first 2 movies years ago a grand total of once. At the time I didn't particularly like either of them.
A friend was telling me that the musical was pretty good though, so on a whim I dropped by the theatre today and picked up a ticket. The show is currently in preview and opens for real on Tuesday (May 8). It's a small cast - I think there are only 6 people on stage but they're all quite talented and they both sing and act well.
From a plot perspective, it seems to be pretty close to the movies (from what I recall). One cannot possibly take this kind of stuff seriously and overall the play works becuase it doesn't take itself seriously. It's smart, funny and it has a few catchy tunes as well. The babe who played Ulla in The Producers is in this show as well - she actually plays 2 different characters so she gets to stretch her acting skills a bit as well as show off her incredibly tall, hot bod. I kind of wonder if her boobs are really that big. Even if they aren't, the thought of having those amazing, long legs wrapped around you ...
... but, I digress. The first 2 rows are designated "splatter zones" because in Act II you get splattered with fake blood. It's not as gross as it sounds and it's actually quite a bit of fun. The audience was really into it and I thought they could have used even more blood. If you're into that stuff, I would recommend buying the white Evil Dead T-shirt at the souvenier stand and wearing it during Act II. I did see some people wearing those disposable plastic raincoats so I guess they are available if you ask.
As I said, the show is currently in preview mode so there were a few kinks today. Firstly the show was supposed to start at 8 but the curtain only went up around 8:30. Secondly it seems the sound guys are still fiddling with the acoustics of the mics - for the first bit the vocals of the songs were a little hard to hear, but things got better as the night progressed. I would think they'll have this worked out by the time the show opens for real.
The show was entertaining enough and cheap enough (my ticket was $50) that if I can find someone to go with, I think I will repeat.
A friend was telling me that the musical was pretty good though, so on a whim I dropped by the theatre today and picked up a ticket. The show is currently in preview and opens for real on Tuesday (May 8). It's a small cast - I think there are only 6 people on stage but they're all quite talented and they both sing and act well.
From a plot perspective, it seems to be pretty close to the movies (from what I recall). One cannot possibly take this kind of stuff seriously and overall the play works becuase it doesn't take itself seriously. It's smart, funny and it has a few catchy tunes as well. The babe who played Ulla in The Producers is in this show as well - she actually plays 2 different characters so she gets to stretch her acting skills a bit as well as show off her incredibly tall, hot bod. I kind of wonder if her boobs are really that big. Even if they aren't, the thought of having those amazing, long legs wrapped around you ...
... but, I digress. The first 2 rows are designated "splatter zones" because in Act II you get splattered with fake blood. It's not as gross as it sounds and it's actually quite a bit of fun. The audience was really into it and I thought they could have used even more blood. If you're into that stuff, I would recommend buying the white Evil Dead T-shirt at the souvenier stand and wearing it during Act II. I did see some people wearing those disposable plastic raincoats so I guess they are available if you ask.
As I said, the show is currently in preview mode so there were a few kinks today. Firstly the show was supposed to start at 8 but the curtain only went up around 8:30. Secondly it seems the sound guys are still fiddling with the acoustics of the mics - for the first bit the vocals of the songs were a little hard to hear, but things got better as the night progressed. I would think they'll have this worked out by the time the show opens for real.
The show was entertaining enough and cheap enough (my ticket was $50) that if I can find someone to go with, I think I will repeat.
