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Join Us! Cult Film Evil Dead Comes Back to Life as Off-Broadway Musical
By Ernio Hernandez
02 Oct 2006
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Ryan Ward as Ash in Evil Dead: The Musical.
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"Blood will fly, limbs will be lost, demons will tell bad jokes. All of this, and singing and dancing!" boasts Evil Dead: The Musical, a new musical comedy based on the Sam Raimi cult film classics, which hits the Off-Broadway stage Oct. 2.
Jenkay LLC, Jeffrey Latimer Entertainment and Just For Laughs Live present the "killer musical" which begins previews Oct. 2 at the New World Stages and opens Nov. 1. Tickets are currently on sale through Dec. 9.
"Evil Dead: The Musical unearths the old familiar story," reveals a press release, "boy and friends take a weekend getaway at abandoned cabin, boy expects to get lucky, boy unleashes ancient evil spirit, friends turn into Candarian Demons, boy fights until dawn to survive."
Christopher Bond and Tony Award winner Hinton Battle ("Dreamgirls," "Idlewild") direct the work which features a book and lyrics by George Reinblatt, music by Frank Cipolla, Bond, Melissa Morris and Reinblatt with music supervision by Cipolla.
The cast — charged with songs like "All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed by Candarian Demons," "Hail to the King," "Look Who's Evil Now" and "Do the Necronomicon" — includes Ryan Ward (as Ash), Jennifer Byrne (Linda), Jenna Coker (Cheryl), Renee Klapmeyer (Annie/ Shelly), Amy Shute (female understudy), Tom Walker (Ed/ Moose), Brandon Wardell (Scott), Ryan Williams (Fake Shemp/ male understudy) and Darryl Winslow (Jake).
The "tale of lust, love and dismemberment" began its life in workshop engagements, which "played to capacity and beyond" at Toronto's Transac Club before the work moved to Montreal's Cabaret du Plateau to play as part of the 2004 Just For Laughs Festival.
"Turning it into a musical was the next logical step," explains co-creator and director Bond about the Raimi-made story (which includes 1981's "Evil Dead," 1987's "Evil Dead II" and 1992's "Army of Darkness"). "With each installment, the trilogy delves further and further into farce and camp."
Lending a hand to the design the New York run will be David Gallo (sets), Cynthia Nordstrom (costumes), Jason Lyons (lighting), Peter Fitzgerald and Kevin Lacy (sound) with Louis Zakarian (makeup and special effects).
Tickets to Evil Dead: The Musical at New World Stages' Stage 1, 340 West 50th Street (between Eighth and Ninth Avenues) are available by calling (212) 239-6200 or at the box office. "Splatter Zone" tickets – in the front rows of the theater – will be available for $25. (Patrons in that area "should be prepared for a bloody good time and dress accordingly"). For more information, visit EvilDeadTheMusical.com.
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