Evil Dead The Musical: It’s Back… And Bloodier Than Ever!

Blood pours from the ceiling as the bodies pile up. Loved ones suffer grisly deaths. An ominous voice recites passages in ancient Sumerian. A demon wearing the skin of a dead sister, locked up in a cellar, threatens the living.

And then, a moose puppet on the wall starts singing showtunes as the audience erupts in laughter at star Ryan Ward’s slapstick fight with his own hand.

Welcome to Evil Dead: The Musical.

Photo by David Hou

More than ten years after ED:TM first opened its doors to the insatiable hordes of ravenous fans hungry for a musical that combined zombies, violence, laughs, action, and fountains of blood, it has returned. Much like the Deadites themselves, this show proves it cannot die with its newest incarnation, featuring more laughs, more blood, more guts, and more glory.

I recently saw the newest incarnation of the show and then had a brief chat with Christopher Bond, the show’s director.

Kat: What’s the best way to describe the show to someone who hasn’t seen it?

Christopher: The funniest night out you can have in Toronto. It’s a musical that dudes will love, whether you know the movie or not. It’s a party every night.

Kat: EDTM has had numerous runs globally. The show has been licensed around the world, with the original show currently touring. Even during the show’s hiatus these past few years, I’ve seen multiple people sporting EDTM shirts at conventions. What do you think is the secret to the show’s success?

Christopher: The secret to Evil Dead the musical is the amazing surprise that it’s a show for everybody. My grandmother even loves this show. You can hate musicals and love this production. Evil Dead is the show a wife can bring her husband to. It’s also the only show in the world that features a splatter zone.

Kat: Besides the super amazing ceiling blood, what other new features have been added to the show?

Christopher: We’ve got all new fights, new choreography, more special fx and even more bad jokes than ever!

Kat: Ryan Ward is back as Ash. Who else from previous runs will be reprising their roles? Was there ever any hesitation on asking Ryan back as Ash?

Christopher: besides Ryan Ward, only Alison Smyth returns to play Cheryl, which she played back in 2008. As soon as we knew this production was moving forward, we began discussing with Ryan. He’s the best and we’re thrilled to have him back.

Kat: The show was on hiatus for years. Why bring it back now?

Christopher: because zombies kick ass, especially these days. Walking Dead has legitimized zombies for prime time audiences. The time to come back couldn’t have been better- and we are thrilled to be home in Toronto.

Evil Dead: The Musical seamlessly blends laughs, heart, blood, gore, and camp, with great choreography and songs you’ll find yourself humming along to for the rest of the week. If you haven’t seen the show before, go check it out. If you have, go see it again. Sit in the splatter zone, get covered in blood, laugh your ass off, and then buy the CD and sing along to it in your car.

Sure, it’s a musical, but it’s such a bad ass show, nobody will take your cool kid card away.

To find out more about the show and buy tickets, check out http://evildeadthemusical.com.