Fans of the horror genre are familiar in some way with the legendary Evil Dead trilogy of films: The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn and Army of Darkness. Written, directed and co- executive produced by Sam Raimi and starring co-executive producer Bruce Campbell as the lead character “Ash,” the first film was released in 1981. A story about a group of friends who unknowingly unleash demonic forces during a weekend cabin getaway, The Evil Dead encompasses everything that makes B-movies great: campiness, questionable acting, blatant continuity errors and cheap-looking stop-motion claymation special effects. However, it simultaneously encapsulates what made some of the most brutal horror films of the early ‘80s successful, with gallons of gore and fake blood, horrific and grotesque special FX make-up and costumes, point-of-view camera tricks and a great plot. Many of Raimi’s trademarks started in this film, such as including a sequence of a floating/dangling bad guy, torturing his cast with stunts and having the yellow ’73 Oldsmobile Delta 88 and/or Bruce Campbell present somewhere in almost every film he would ever go on to make. The budgets grew throughout the film series, as did the production quality, cast, crew and special effects. All three films went on to become cult classics.
Fast-forward to August 2003 in Toronto, Canada. All good things must eventually become bastardized and capitalized upon—or “paid homage to,” as they say in the business. But not too many people saw Evil Dead: The Musical coming. And lo and behold, as the production played to capacity crowds and rave reviews, word on the streets was that not only was it hilarious, it could easily emerge as the next Rocky Horror Picture Show! The original George Reinblatt/Toronto production went on to the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal in 2004 and had a New York Off-Broadway run from 2006 to 2008. Its 300th performance in June of 2008 marked it as “the longest- running Canadian production” in 20 years. A North American tour is currently underway. Since its premiere, over 150 different productions of Evil Dead: The Musical have been staged around the world.
This month, See ‘Em On Stage Productions brings the experience to New Orleans at the Shadowbox Theatre, with director Christopher Bentivegna and Robert Facio starring as Ash. “When I decided to start a theater company, I knew I wanted to focus on musicals that are not often done or maybe have never been done in New Orleans; or musicals that were a little strange or different,” explains Bentivegna. “Because of my love for reading and movies, I also wanted to focus on musicals whose source material came from something else first. I thought it could be an interesting concept to take titles that people were more familiar with from another source (such as a book or a movie) and present them on stage. When choosing our first production, I wanted to pick something that fit within that concept, a show that would get people excited and bring a unique energy to the theater scene. I have loved the Evil Dead movie series since I was a kid [and] have seen Evil Dead: The Musical in its original off-Broadway run.”
[pullquote] We made a conscious decision to approach the singing and dancing elements in the same way you would approach a more mainstream musical, to give the production a rousing and ironically uplifting feel, despite the horrible things happening to the characters[/pullquote]Facio’s introduction to Evil Dead was similar: “I was first introduced to the Evil Dead trilogy in high school and quickly fell in love. The films, especially the first two, represent filmmaking for the love of filmmaking. No secret distribution numbers to be met, just a group of artist gathering for the pure fact of making art… and in their very own style.”
Taking elements from all three movies, SEOS Productions will also incorporate tons of farce and satire, with across-the- board pop culture references and ironic homages to the stereotypical “feel-good” Broadway musical. Says Facio, “The fans will see how the films are being used by the writers of the musical. But for those who are new to the Evil Dead world, it is a great jumping-in point because of how it synthesizes all three films. The absolute diehard fans will spot nifty little “Easter eggs” in the musical that the director pulled from the trilogy. Our version of Evil Dead: The Musical is more of an ultimate director’s cut of the trilogy that would make Sam Raimi proud.”
Bentivegna elaborates, “The more I studied the script and listened to the score, the more I began seeing the whole production as an interactive, multi-media production that pays homage to the movies, but also to Broadway musicals, TV shows, movies and pop culture in general. There were so many things that inspired me as I planned this production that it was incredibly easy to have a unique vision. I knew from the start that while most of the show will be performed live, I wanted some elements to be filmed, which we have done in partnership with Little to N.O. Budget Films… I feel very strongly that we do a better job than any other version I have seen of strongly incorporating elements of the movies in a highly referential way, but also providing enough references to other forms of entertainment, so that every single audience member will be ‘in on the joke’ whether they are Evil Dead movie fans or not. We also made a conscious decision to approach the singing and dancing elements in the same way you would approach a more mainstream musical such as Hairspray, to give the whole production a rousing and ironically uplifting feel, despite the horrible things that are happening to the characters.”
The company itself is no stranger to irony. Early rehearsals were held at a church in River Ridge because other productions were using the Shadowbox Theatre at the time. So while choir practice went on in one room, the cast were singing about sawing through the heads of their possessed loved ones in the next room. I asked Bentivegna how he wound up partnering up with a church and if they knew what the musical was about. He replied that he had put together a production of Jesus Christ Superstar for them, and when he mentioned that they were struggling to find a rehearsal space for Evil Dead: The Musical until they could start using the theater, they immediately offered their building. He told them, “You don’t understand, there’s tree rape in this musical,” to which they replied, “Well, it’s only a church on Sundays.”
Regarding the score, Facio notes, “I’m finding that every rehearsal I am discovering something new with each musical number, and then making it my new favorite. ‘Housewares Employees,’ for example, is a great moment for the audience to see Ash and Linda honestly express their repressed love through famous romance movie moments. During ‘What the Fuck was That,’ Ash and Scott are coming to terms with the possession and death of some of their vacation party through tango. And ‘It’s Time’ is a feel-good revenge number between Ash and all of the Candarian demons. The number I personally enjoy watching the most is ‘We Will Never Die.’ Sure, the show gets a bit campy at times, but this number is probably the darkest moment in the whole show where the audience is actually wondering how Ash will get out of the situation.” Also, check out “Do the Necronomicon,” ED:TM’s answer to the “Time Warp,” where the Deadites teach you their dance, step-by-step.
What does it take to successfully pull off a show of this scope? “There are nine people in the cast, but there are probably close to 35 people or more who are working on or who have worked on this show in some way. The size of the cast does not reflect the scope of the show at all… Especially for a first production, the overall team is quite impressive and includes some of the most talented artists and performers and designers in the city. I am also grateful that I have a creative and devoted special effects team helping us to make this show as gory, bloody and gross (in a good way) as possible.” Adds Facio: “I have been acting for several years now in New Orleans and the surrounding area, while attending undergraduate and grad school in Performance Art (and teaching locally and abroad) [and] Evil Dead will be one of the most technically-complicated productions I have ever worked on. I am positive that the New Orleans audience will be highly entertained, and possibly lose their heads!”
You can tell an actor’s been working hard on this musical when he starts speaking in puns. It isn’t hard to get caught up in the campy ridiculousness of this musical. But not only is Ash the leading role, he’s an iconic figure in the B-movie/ horror world who was made famous by legendary actor Bruce Campbell. How intimidating would it be to find out you’re filling those shoes? “Well, when you put it that way… I think the reality of what I am attempting to do just hit me! Ha ha! I am honored, truly,” replies Facio. “It’s a lot of pressure to make sure that the portrayal of the character is true not only for the general audience, but especially for the Evil Dead fans… when preparing for the audition, I re-watched Evil Dead 2 to try and find what made Ash… well, Ash. The one thing I learned was that he is a character that really does just fly by the seat-of-his-pants and takes things as they come. So that is what I tried to play the most honest during the audition. Now that I am delving into that which is Ash, I am finding more and more layers. Most other portrayals of Ash are pretty much straight forward: from beginning to end he is the confident, smooth-talking, cocky kind of guy we see at the end of Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. But I am using the extended character arc from the musical to develop additional layers which result from the things he witnesses in the cabin and choices he has to make for survival. It is these events that show the transformation of Ash from the innocent, love-stricken college boy to the groovy hero that we all know and love.”
“This is every actor’s dream role… Maybe not to play ‘Ash’ specifically, but a character that is so well-developed in our culture and is still one of the most unlikely musical protagonists ever written. Even though Ash is forced to be a hero that can sometimes be really egotistical and a little bit of a jerk, you can’t help but cheer for him to get the girl and applaud him as he cuts off a demon’s head.”
See ‘Em On Stage presents Evil Dead: The Musical at Shadowbox Theatre, 2400 St. Claude Avenue, from Oct. 17-20, 24-27, and on Halloween night at 8 p.m. For more info check out evildeadmusicalnola.eventbrite.com
