Evil Dead The Musical Las Vegas:Review

The first time I watched The Evil Dead on film I was mesmerized, to say the least. My girlfriend at the time, left the room in disgust, presumably deciding right then to break up with me. To that I say, “What a stupid bitch!”.

I first heard about “Evil Dead:The Musical” much earlier this year, before it became a mainstay at the Planet Hollywood. I was psyched, you would get to watch The Evil Dead (in 4d!) with people who truly appreciate all that is important in life; music, blood, and Bruce Campbell. Yet I somehow let this seemingly once-in-a-lifetime chance pass me by. Then, by pure blind luck I happened to be strolling through the Planet Hollywood looking for info on Eli Roth’s Goretorium and low and behold…
I just went from 6 to noon…

 

Friday night 8/24/2012. Steve and I arrive at Planet Hollywood’s V Theater, a quaint little theater sandwiched between a few bars and a restaurant, “quaint” enough that i’m sure most people walk by without giving it a second glance. (It’s that or they are too focused on the enormous cast of a women in her undergarments at the “Stripper bar” next door) As the “deadites” outside lead us in and to our seats I hadn’t the slightest idea what exactly I was in for.

A few musical numbers and raunchy jokes (that could have been straight out of a Judd Apatow film) later and we’re here, inside the “cabin in the woods”, watching as Ash, played by Ben Stobber, (which we’ll have more on later) cuts his girlfriend’s head off with a chainsaw as he himself and all members of the “splatter section” are drenched in blood.

What is the splatter section you ask? The splatter section is seating located directly in front of the stage, where (for a slightly higher admission price) you are given a white splatter section t-shirt. Then, with each punctured ankle, with each shotgun blast, with each severed limb, WITH EACH FOOT OF INTESTINE PULLED FROM IT’S VICTIMS BODY(!) you are drenched more and more thus staining your once whitest of t-shirts, blood red. Yes, sitting in the splatter section will make you the envy of all your friends. With it’s unparalleled audience-cast member interaction, it’s style is impetuous, it’s defense is impregnable, it’s ferocious, it wants your heart, it wants to eat your children!  It may not want to do any of those things listed above, but just know this…If you don’t sit in this section at least once, you WILL regret it.

The Evil Dead Musical touches on points from all three films in the Evil Dead Trilogy all the while adding it’s own style with musical performances that leave you thinking “What the fuck was that?”, but in a good way. It also gives many nods to other classic horror franchises. (Hellraiser being one of the many I caught.) The audience is chalk full of people who share your adoration for The Evil Dead and this is most apparent with the eruption of applause and cheers every time you hear your favorite quotes from the films. Yes…”This is my boomstick” is one of them.

The cast do an amazing job and have definitely played their respective roles in a way any fan of Evil Dead will undoubtedly be able to enjoy . A few of the obvious crowd favorites(I’m sure there are no surprises here) being, good ol’ reliable “Jake”, played by John Tomasello. Also, the crowd pleasing/soaking “Scott-y” played by Brian “Mickey” Roark. “What a stupid bitch!” (Just clarifying where this came from to avoid any hatemail CONFUSION) Last but not least Nicole Unger for her sexed up performances of BOTH characters she played, (which I honestly didn’t realize until now) quick talking “Annie” and the slutty (and stupid) yet sultry “Shelly”.

Touching back on the character of Ash for a second. I’m sure most of us here were drawn to the Evil Dead Series for one of many reasons, Bruce Campbell’s portrayal of the character “Ash”. With that comes our belief that no other actor could have ever attempted to play him better, to which I do agree. Yet, Ben Stobber in his portrayal of Ash in Evil Dead The Musical, has become Bruce Campbell. From his physical appearance being eerily similar, down to his mannerisms, his voice, his facial expressions. Ben has somehow managed to encapsulate the spirit of Bruce Campbell from these Evil Dead movies we have all grown to know and love, and is able to use this in his brilliant performance of “Ash” night in and night out, and for this I applaud him.

 

Evil Dead the Musical, the only thing I enjoyed more than the Friday night showing was being able to come back that Saturday night and watch it all over again. It may have just been me (or the lack of the female audience member who decided to get “High School Prom wasted”) but going in Saturday and knowing what to expect, being able to sit back, Newcastle in hand, and watch the (sadly underwhelming) crowd’s reaction to the performance unfolding before them, anticipating each laugh, each chant of “Join us”…Yeah, this is how I’d recommend seeing it, twice.

A special shoutout/ thank you to Sirc Michaels for his support of Followingyourfears.com with the supplying of the tickets, he should rest assured knowing I will be seeing this many more times.

Again, to the cast, thank you all very much for the memorable performances, it was an unforgettable experience. I will be humming the tune of “WTF was that” for some time now.

Go to their Facebook Page Here , or purchase your tickets Here.

See where else it’s playing Here.

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