by Michael Buzzelli
When five college kids, led by Ash (Brett Goodnack), convinces his friends to sneak into a supposedly-abandoned cabin in the woods, he has no idea what sort of mayhem he’s about to unleash in “Evil Dead – The Musical,” a musical based on the campy Sam Raimi horror-comedy franchise, “The Evil Dead.”
Ash takes his girlfriend, Linda (Kamilah Lay), his sister, Cheryl (Sabina May), his best friend, Scott (Brecken Newton Farrell) and a girl Scott picked up in a bar, the ditzy Shelly (Zanny Laird) to the haunted cabin.
The cabin’s previous occupant, Professor Knowby (Damon Oliver, Jr.) was secluded inside researching an ancient Sumerian text, the “Necronomicon Ex-Mortis,” when he recited an incantation in the book and all hell broke loose, literally and figuratively.
Somehow the mystical tome unleashes all sorts of carnage. It possesses people, it animates the trees in the forest to do its evil bidding, and even causes a mounted Moosehead to come alive and start talking trash.
The demons guarantee that the blood will flow. So much so, it gets all over the first couple of rows of the audience. There will be blood – and it will be hilarious.
Side note: Bring a poncho.
If any of this sounds insane, you’re absolutely correct. The insanity is the fun of “Evil Dead – The Musical.” The plot doesn’t matter. Sit back, embrace the craziness and have fun.
Ash is a dim-witted, self-important S-Mart employee with a heart of gold. Goodnack reprises the role he has played several years in a row for the Pittsburgh Musical Theater, and he is the perfect Ash. Aside from Goodnack (and the original actor, Bruce Campbell), it’s hard to imagine anyone else strutting around the stage, reciting the pithy tongue-in-cheek dialogue.
Laird, in a dual role as oversexualized bimbo Shelly and erudite, yet also oversexed, Annie, lights up the stage. The roles are vastly different, but Laird plays them with such verve.
Farrell’s Scott is a douche bag, but the actor manages to find his sensitive side, ironically, in a song, “What the F*@k Was That?”
May’s Cheryl is a demonic delight. She is the first to turn to the dark side, and uses her evil powers to deliver groan-worthy puns that even the corniest dads would dad-joke about.
The thing about a show like this is that the whole cast has to go balls-to-the-wall and tits out, and they do. Nick Mitchell directs the show for the fifth time and hasn’t lost the enthusiasm for the show. It is as kinetic and frenetic as it was in the first sold-out run back in 2017.
There’s some terrific music by Frank Cipolla, Christopher Bond, Melissa Morris and George Reinblatt. The tunes will haunt you…in a earwormy way.
Side note: This reviewer danced the Necronomicon all the way back to his car, and hummed it all the way home.
“Evil Dead – The Musical” is for any Halloween aficionado, horror fans, comedy fans, and people who want to be soaked in fake blood. Grab a poncho and head to the West End.
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“Evil Dead – The Musical” runs until October 26 at the Pittsburgh Musical Theater, The West End Canopy, 327 South Main Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15220. For more information, click here.
