Eubank does it again
Rating: 5
Evil Dead: The Musical
Egads Theatre Company
Steven Eubank is a genius.
I have always maintained that Steven is one of the best directors in town and a pure joy to work with. Though I was not fortunate enough to be a part of his most recent production, Evil Dead the Musical, I am not at all upset that I was not cast. Every actor in this show was cast perfectly for their part and I wouldn't have it any other way.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the show, it is a musical parody of the Evil Dead movie trilogy featuring Bruce Campbell. I attended the 11pm performance on October 22nd (their late night shows not only have great discounts, but never fail to be a little more rowdy). I had the great pleasure of sitting next to the dramaturg, Matt Leonard, who is an absolute expert on the cinematic version of the story, and he was almost as entertaining to watch as the show itself as he quoted the famous lines along with the actors and cheered hardily at successful stage deaths.
I also decided to brave the infamous "Splatter Zone", where patrons are pretty much guaranteed to get at least some stage blood on them. If you really want to get covered, all you have to do is nab a seat in the center of any of the stage side rows; that's where the majority of the gore strikes. Egads Theatre Company has t-shirts for sale in the lobby so that you can take home a souvenir covered in blood if you so choose.
On to the performers: in a word, AMAZING. Eubank did a phenomenal job casting this show. All of the singing voices were perfectly matched to their characters and I was impressed with the breath control during the intense dance sequences (courtesy of choreography Derek Ferguson). Sam Wright (Ash) was a shoe in for Bruce Campbell and his lovey-dovey relationship with Linda (played by Aurelie Roque) was almost more disgusting then all the gore. Ethan Miller (Ed) had a very cute little number called "Bit Part Demon" and my only complaint was that he didn't show off the tap dancing skills that he demonstrated in Egads' last production, Eating Rauol. Noah Whitmore was absolutely hilarious as the sex driven Scott and had a beautifully grotesque death scene that featured him pulling out his own intestines. Whitmore was also the most liberal with sharing blood with the patrons in the "Splatter Zone". Chioma Anyanwu (Cheryl) spent the majority of the show as an "evil dead" and the contrast of her evil voice from the original, shy Cheryl was astounding. She sounded like two completely different people and I'm sure that she had vocal fatigue from how much energy she threw into the role. I was also amazed by her incredible stage death when she went down like a felled tree with absolutely no abandon. Dana Joel Nicholson played the aptly named "good ol' reliable Jake"; you could rely on him for a red neck good time and beautiful comedic timing (though the rest of the cast did not lack this in the least). Last, but not least, my personal favorite, Olivia Marsh. Marsh played two characters, Shelly and Annie, both sexy but different in almost every other aspect. I was very impressed with how she made a clear distinction between the characters (the audience would not need the different costumes and wigs to differentiate between the two). Shelly was a complete idiot, content to slate Scott's sexual appetite and remember Cheryl's name by using her vagina as a ventriloquist dummy, and Annie was an academic who insisted on being control of everything. Both characters featured scandalous costumes but no one in the audience seemed to mind whenever she bent over.
The set and lighting were perfect compliments to the performances of the actors with the special touch of blood actually shooting out of the stage. They also utilized fog very well. One particular moment I enjoyed was when a steady gust of air from downstage left blew back Roque's hair during her duet with Wright. In the middle of the stage was a cellar door that Anyanwu often popped out of to spout off bad puns. Several of the actors had interactions involving the trap door and it appeared to be very heavy and slightly dangerous (it was slammed shut often). I know for a fact that Nicolson was injured during one of the previous performances when his arm was pinched in the door. This factor of the set, as well as some branches that attacked the characters, were very worrisome to me and I was concerned for the actors' safety because of them.
Overall, Evil Dead the Musical receives a five out of five from me. I've never laughed so hard in the theatre. My hat is off to Steven Eubank and is marvelous cast. I hope to see the show again before it closes!
read the review at KC Stage
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