Cheerful, uplifting numbers and light-footed dance sequences are all staples of your everyday garden variety musical.
However, Evil Dead is different.
"It was definitely one of the least infuriating musicals I've seen in a while…might have been because of the zombies," said Bryan Lynch, a 42-year-old accountant from Buffalo.
It is deliberately campy, cheesy and outrageously gory. Evil Dead manipulates all the genre stereotypes to poke fun at theatrical predictability, and the outcome is a bloody good time.
This is because it's the only musical in the world with a splatter zone; waterproof clothing is advised. However, the word "splatter" is an understatement. Fake blood, among other objects, rains down on audience members in the first two rows with reckless abandon. Neat freaks and the squeamish alike are advised to sit as far back as possible if they want to avoid being hit in the face with an odd condom or two.
The show, which is playing at the Alt Theatre through Halloween, is strictly R-rated. Children under the age of 15 are not permitted inside the theatre and 16 and 17 year olds have to be accompanied by a parent, so you're guaranteed plenty of dismemberment and, oddly enough, tree semen.
James Finch, a self-employed 39-year-old Buffalo resident, showed up to the Thursday night screening wearing a white T-shirt to broadcast his bravado. He insisted on having photos taken before and after the show to document his theatrical experience.
"What better way to immerse yourself in a plot than to actually bathe in the actors' blood," Finch said. "I'm not just part of the action, I'm drenched in it. It's how I know I'm not a wuss."
For those who are not quite as valiant as Finch but are still hoping to get in on the fun, there are ponchos available at the entrance. Take a cue from the more hesitant attendees and grab two so you're wrapped from head to toe in plastic.
As the protagonist Ash (Casey Denton) helpfully points out, Evil Dead is "an old tale" that has been told hundreds of times.
"A boy and his friends go on a weeklong vacation in the woods," Ash tells Anne (Jenny Kuliwicki). "Three friends turn into Candarian demons. One friend is killed by a forest of evil trees. Two demons are killed by their boyfriends respectively, while one stays in the cellar trying to kill everything in sight."
Pretty standard stuff, really.
Drawing heavily from the Evil Dead trilogy, Evil Dead: The Musical is designed to draw in the fans of the original. However, collaborators George Reinblatt (Book and Lyrics), Frank Cipolla, Christopher Bond and Melissa Morris have come up with a production so zany that familiarity with the cult classics is not a requirement for enjoying it.
"I thought it was awesome," said Ryan Awayda, a sophomore music education major at Buffalo State College. "I never watched the movies, but that just made every on-stage death a delightful surprise."
Prior knowledge does, however, help you appreciate some of the subtler touches. The inclusion of Bruce Campbell's novel "Make Love: The Bruce Campbell Way" as a prop is the finest example.
Actor Casey Denton does a great job of merging his own machismo with Bruce Campbell's iconic swagger, while actress Jenny Zulwicki flawlessly transitions from ditzy Shelly to determined Anne. Maria Droz's Cheryl is overtly sexual (and, at times, uncomfortably so), but she succeeds in being one of the most memorable characters on stage.
The songs are nonsensical ("Cabin in the Woods") and annoying ("Join Us"), but they are also somewhat catchy ("Look Who's Evil Now!"). Plus, the demons are not afraid to come off stage to give a few lucky recipients a lap dance. Still, no song sums up the evening better than Ash and Scott's bro-love-tinged duet.
After watching Evil Dead: The Musical, audience members will be left thinking only one thing: "What did I just witness?"
E-mail: arts@ubspectrum.com
