Something about the horror genre makes it lend itself to the best cult classics, and many of the best cult classics are musicals. So it was a match made in Heaven \u2014 or, in this case, Hell \u2014 to turn writer and director Sam Raimi\u2019s \u201cEvil Dead\u201d franchise into a song-and-dance production.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Musical Theater has made something of a tradition of putting on \u201cEvil Dead the Musical\u201d after sunset at the outdoor West End Canopy in the weeks leading up to Halloween each year. The show, which mashes together bits and pieces from the first three \u201cEvil Dead\u201d films, has been a worldwide hit on regional stages since it premiered in Toronto in 2003. It features music by Frank Cipolla, Christopher Bond, Melissa Morris and George Reinblatt, with Reinblatt also providing the book and lyrics.<\/p>\n
The original films \u2014 \u201cThe Evil Dead,\u201d \u201cEvil Dead II\u201d and \u201cArmy of Darkness\u201d \u2014 were directed and written by Sam Raimi and released in the 1980s and early 1990s. Since, they\u2019ve gained a sort of classic status and spawned a TV series, piles of comics and three more films, the most recent of which was released earlier this year.<\/p>\n
The musical kicks off with five college students, Ash (Brett Goodnack), Scott (Brecken Newton Farrell), Cheryl (Zanny Laird), Linda (Kamilah Lay) and Shelly (Sabina May) heading to a cabin to spend a vacation. They discover that the cabin \u2014 which they\u2019ve broken into \u2014 contains a recording of archaeologist Knowby (Nick Mitchell at Saturday night\u2019s performance) reciting incantations from a \u201cBook of the Dead\u201d that he discovered, and they play them.<\/p>\n
After Cheryl leaves the cabin after hearing whispering voices and is attacked in the woods, she eventually becomes possessed. Soon it is clear that a demonic force has taken hold the woods, and all of the characters except for Ash succumb. But then, Knowby\u2019s daughter Annie (Michaela Isenberg) shows upp with the pages from the book that can save them from the demons. Unfortunately, plenty of dismemberment has to happen first; there\u2019s a reason why the front several rows of seats at the West End Canopy are the designated \u201cSplash Zone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Goodnack is playing Ash for his seventh year, and he\u2019s got the role down to a science. Film actor Bruce Campbell provides some large shoes to fill, but Goodnack both honors the role and makes it his own, with delivery and mannerisms that are just over-the-top enough. His housemates are also striking the tone perfectly, especially Lay as Linda, who is funny and shows off impressive pipes in early-show power ballad \u201cHousewares Employee.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the most magnetic cast member is Laird as Cheryl, Ash\u2019s sister. She starts out earnestly terrified and, after possession, goes on a raucous and rollicking performance as a possessed person locked in a basement spouting puns. Isenberg as Annie makes a pleasant later-plot addition to the show, with she and Goodnack sharing some bloody good chemistry.<\/p>\n
Speaking of blood, needless to say some special effects are involved in \u201cEvil Dead the Musical.\u201d Makeup, wig and special FX designer Christopher Patrick put in some serious work, as did a large team of artists who executed al of the gore. Whether it\u2019s decapitations or stabbings, you get a little bit of everything in this musical.<\/p>\n
While this is ostensibly a horror show, and there\u2019s plenty of creepiness and grossness to be found, it\u2019s also a comedy. Everything has the feel of a slightly satirized \u201980s slasher flick, including the music. The band, led by Dr. Francesca Tortorello, is small but mighty, rocking through songs that played in many different genres.<\/p>\n
Director Nick Mitchell and choreographer Gemma Michell, as well as fight director Ben Sheedy, make a very precise job of timing and blocking look easy with humor and care. Scenic designer Tucker Topel built a perfect cabin in the woods in which to commit murder, and lighting designer Todd Nonn used bright colors and long shadows to keep things in the balance between cheesy and creepy.<\/p>\n
There are a lot of hokey jokes in this show, but you\u2019ll get your fill of the iconic lines, too \u2014 the ones that get applause from all of the \u201cEvil Dead\u201d fans in the audience. The show is a little gross, a little raunchy and definitely not for kids, but it makes a \u201cgroovy\u201d pre-Halloween night out for anyone looking to get in the spooky mood with some music alongside the mayhem.<\/p>\n