31 Days of Halloween: Evil Dead the Musical

SPOILERS!

 So I have looked at a few of the Army of Darkness comics and I have not been shy about my love of Evil Dead 1 and 2, AOD, and even to a lesser degree the remake of Evil Dead. But there are some other times they took the Evil Dead name and mediums we have not looked at yet and one of them is the FAR FAR off Broadway play, Evil Dead the Musical.

It is a Canadian rock musical first performed in 2003 and grew so popular, so fast that by 2006 it was an off broadway play that one critic even said it may be the new Rocky Horror Picture Show.  It grew bigger and bigger hitting other cites and towns. A friend and I saw it in in Austin years and years ago and it was great, even had a splatter zone.

Finally hitting the big time with Las Vegas, when Off-Strip Productions and RagTag Entertainment teamed up in 2011 to present it at The Onyx Theatre. It did so well it returned for another run in Vegas in January of 2012.

Ultimate 4D Experience - Las Vegas

On June 22, 2012, Sirc Michaels Productions brought the show to the Las Vegas Strip as a resident, open-ended production at the V Theater, the production is now officially the longest running production in the history of the show.
Due to the nature of the show, including the addition of 100 seat splatter zone, audience interaction, multi-media elements, and state of the art effects, lights, and sound, the name was altered slightly to include "Ultimate 4D Experience" to reflect production and design elements that separate the production from other stagings of the show.
The show has expanded to 5 nights a week (Tuesdays through Saturdays) and has an open-ended contract. According to the show's producer, it will be on the Vegas Strip until "the last fan is covered in blood".

The cast has been known the change out now and then but the main one seems to be the list below.

• Ash: David Sajewich
• Cheryl: Demi Zaino
• Annie/Shelly: Callie Johnson
• Jake: Andrew Di Rosa
• Scott: Creg Sclavi
• Linda: Julie Baird
• Ed/Moose: Ryan McBride
• Shemp/Male Swing: Ryan Czerwonko
• Female Swing/ Dance Captain: Jessica Kingsdale

Even the songs have changed and updated over the years, look at the starting songs in 2003 to the songs changed and added by 2006.

2003

Act One

1. "Cabin in the Woods" - Ash, Linda, Scott, Shelly, and Cheryl
2. "Housewares Employee" - Ash and Linda
3. "It Won't Let Us Leave" - Cheryl
4. "Look Who's Evil Now" - Cheryl and Shelly
5. "What the Fuck Was That?" - Ash and Scott
6. "Join Us" - Cheryl and Moose
7. "Good Old Reliable Jake" - Jake
8. "I'm Not a Killer" - Ash

Act Two

1. "I'm Not a Killer (Reprise)" - Ash
2. "Bit-Part Demon" - Ed
3. "All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed by Kandarian Demons" - Annie
4. "Do the Necronomicon" - Demons
5. "It's Time" - Company
6. "Hail to the King" - Company

 

 

2006-present

Act One

1. "Cabin in the Woods" - Ash, Linda, Scott, Shelly, and Cheryl
2. "Housewares Employee" - Ash and Linda
3. "It Won't Let Us Leave" - Cheryl
4. "Look Who's Evil Now" - Cheryl and Shelly
5. "What the Fuck Was That?" - Ash and Scott
6. "Join Us" - Cheryl, Moose, and House Spirits
7. "Good Old Reliable Jake" - Jake, Annie, and Ed
8. "Housewares Employee (Reprise)" - Ash and Linda
9. "I'm Not a Killer" - Ash

Act Two

1. "I'm Not a Killer (Reprise)" - Ash
2. "Bit-Part Demon" - Ed
3. "All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed by Candarian Demons" - Annie, Ash, and Jake
4. "Ode to an Accidental Stabbing" - Jake, and Annie,
5. "Do the Necronomicon" - Demons
6. "It's Time" - Ash and Company
7. "We Will Never Die" - Demons
8. "Blew That Bitch Away" - Company

 Like I mentioned before, a buddy of mine named Chris and I saw it years and years ago at a small theatre which was also doing a spoof play of Twilight and we laughed so hard. At one point the sister is going to sit down and read and she chooses Bruce Campbell's biography. Nice touch and the songs are a lot of fun and it sticks pretty well to the story of Evil Dead.  

See if it is coming near you. 

Both Raimi and Campbell have seen and approved of this venture and while there has been talk of a movie version of the musical, so far it has been shot down and gone nowhere but with a new Evil Dead tv show here and a new movie perhaps coming, who can say what the future will hold.
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