As an avid horror movie fan, I’ve long wondered how you turn the Sam Raimi-directed cult-classic Evil Dead into a hilarious comedy set to song. But the creative characters behind Ferndale’s Who Wants Cake theatre company figured it out. And the outcome is enjoyable and utterly hilarious.
Who Wants Cake are currently presenting Evil Dead: The Musical at Detroit’s City Theatre. Shows run 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 3 p.m. Sundays through Halloween, Oct. 31 - with two midnight showings Oct. 23 and Oct. 30, at 2301 Woodward Ave., Detroit.
Don’t be frightened. If you’re an Evil Dead fan or have never seen the film but are up for a spooky trek to a “Cabin in the Woods” where a bunch of unassuming teens are about to find much more than the weekend getaway they hoped for – it’s worth the trip to City Theatre.
Evil Dead: The Musical manages to sneak in all the elements of scary movies we love – the dark ominous woods, the unsafe bridge, the obvious moments before a character is about to meet his match in the form of a zombie or demon. Director Joe Plambeck works with great cast – who reveal a bevy of voices sure to blow you away. They break into song when trouble is brewing.
Mitchell Koory as Ash in Evil Dead: The Musical
Troy resident Mitchell Koory is Ash, once a mild-mannered lovestruck shop employee who must fight to become the lone survivor among the Candarian Demons who have taken over his friends and family one-by-one.
Among them are Leah Victoria as his sister Shelly, Christa Coulter as Cheryl, Allyson Ortwein as his girlfriend Linda, and Tim Kay as his pal Scott. Rounding out the cast are Jeff Bobick as Ed and David Schoen as Jake.
Sure this show is derived from B-movie fodder. It’s one-liners are silly and it’s premise includes a full sequence in which Ash must fight against and then chop off his own hand.
It’s not the kind of musical you’d take your grandmother too. Unless of course your grandmother happens to be a major fan of Bruce Campbell.
With songs like “It Won’t Let Us Leave” and the recurring “Look Who’s Evil Now” as well as the quite hilarious “What the F Was That?” Evil Dead: The Musical traipses right into comedic territory. Koory uses physical comedy to exhausted extremes, and our delight, and even manages to sing along with a stuffed moose head. Characters are attacked by trees. They over-dramatize and resurrect themselves in true zombie fashion. Some are even self-aware enough to sing songs like “Bit Part Demon.”
It all adds up to a really hilarious night of theatre. If you find yourself at all curious about this show, don’t wait any longer. And those with an ounce of daring might as well spring for the Splatter Seats. After all, it’s nearly Halloween. What’s a little blood and among friends?
Kudos to the Who Wants Cake cast members, crew and musicians – all of whom managed to elevate these characters with their amazing voices and sheer dedication to the makeup, costuming, sounds and special effects. A be-heading can’t be easy to recreate night after night – am I right?
Tickets are $30-$35 at Olympiaentertainment.com.
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This post is brought to you by the fine folks at Paragon Apartments, offering apartments across Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, and the Paragon Patio, where residents connect. We’d love to talk with you on Facebook and Twitter!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Matt Myftiu, Paragon Apartments. Paragon Apartments said: Have you seen Evil Dead: The Musical yet? It's playing in Detroit thru Oct. 31 http://ow.ly/2VnAv [...]