TAMPA \u2014 Just in time for Halloween, Stageworks Theatre will launch its 2025-2026 season with the cult favorite \u201cEvil Dead: The Musical,\u201d a campy mashup of horror, comedy and rock-and-roll that invites audiences to laugh, scream and even get splattered. The production opens with a preview night on Thursday, Oct. 23.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvil Dead: The Musical\u201d will run Oct. 24-Nov. 16 at Stageworks Theatre, 1120 E. Kennedy Blvd. in Tampa\u2019s Channel District. Evening performances will be presented Fridays at 8 p.m., and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Matinees will be Saturdays and Sundays at 3 p.m. There will be no Saturday matinee on Nov. 1. There will be a special late-night performance on Halloween, Friday, Oct. 31, at 11:30 p.m. Tickets range from $30 to $50. To learn more, visit www.stageworkstheatre.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n The production brings Sam Raimi\u2019s cult-classic films \u2014 \u201cThe Evil Dead\u201d and \u201cEvil Dead II\u201d \u2014 to the stage in a gleefully gory parody about five college students whose weekend getaway unleashes a supernatural force. Complete with outrageous dance numbers and foot-tapping songs, the show gives audiences the choice of a \u201csplashzone\u201d for a blood-soaked immersive experience or a safe, dry seat further back.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2019Evil Dead: The Musical\u2019 is the perfect mix of comedy, horror, and rock-and-roll fun,\u201d said Karla Hartley, Stageworks Theatre\u2019s president and producing artistic director, adjunct professor of theater at the University of Tampa and the show\u2019s director. \u201cI\u2019m especially proud to direct a production that showcases the energy and creativity of UT students alongside our professional team. It\u2019s a wonderful way to kick off a season filled with bold and imaginative storytelling.\u201d<\/p>\n Jaryn McCann, who appeared in Stageworks\u2019 production of \u201cEvil Dead\u201d in 2021, reprises his role as Scott. Logan Franke makes her Stageworks debut as Linda with Paul Iankov cast as Jake. Annalise Drab plays Fake Shemp, Mark Wildman takes on the role of Ed, T.J. Howsare and Marguerite Reed play Cheryl and Annie, respectively. Ben Sutherland, a senior at the University of Tampa, is cast as Ash, and the Ensemble is made up of fellow UT students Elliana Gorecki, Alexandra Pugliese, Alexis Manfredy and Stephon Mikell Jr.<\/p>\n The creative team includes Jarrod Bray, scenic design; Lindsay Ellis, costume design; Danny Aggers, lighting design; James Putnam, master carpenter; Lianne Klein, scenic artist; and Heather Kruger, production stage manager and choreographer Heather Kruger. Xander McColley will head up the band as musical director. He will be joined by Jono Magro, drums; Paul Stoddart, guitar; and Alex Pasut, bass.<\/p>\n Lauren Brigman and Scott Swenson are sponsoring this production.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA \u2014 Just in time for Halloween, Stageworks Theatre will launch its 2025-2026 season with the cult favorite…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4661,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[5165,5163,276,5164,135,137,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-4660","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-evil-dead","9":"tag-evil-dead-the-musical","10":"tag-hillsborough-county","11":"tag-stageworks-theatre","12":"tag-tampa","13":"tag-tampa-headlines","14":"tag-tampa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}