Theater Alive presented Evil Dead: The Musical in San Diego over the Halloween week. The sold out show took place at the 10th Avenue Theatre in downtown. The musical was a rendition of the cult classic film series. The theatre production starred by one of Mesa College very own students, Marclare Curry. Through October 24th to November 2nd, audiences were entertained with the comical version of the horror films.
Evil Dead: The Musical begins with vocal talents and quickly fascinates the audience with its sarcastic verses. Five college students from Michigan, are ecstatic about spending the weekend in an abandoned cabin in the woods. Ash, the S-mart employee; Linda, his girlfriend; Cheryl, his sister; Scott, his best friend; and Shelly, the girl Scott met at a bar a few days before. Like the movie, Evil Dead, the college students unleash evil by opening the Book of the Dead. Ash’s sister, Cheryl, is the first to become possessed after she is attacked by the trees in the woods. After the attack, Cheryl runs back to the cabin and demands Ash to give her a ride back into town. Ash agrees to do so but realizes the bridge has been deteriorated and there is no safe way to get back to town.
In a change of scenery, Annie, the professor’s daughter, arrives from Cairo with the missing pages from the Book of the Dead and asks her fiancé Ed to take her to the cabin in the woods.
Back at the cabin, the students agree to play “Guess the Word.” Cheryl in a trance, begins to yell out the answers to all the cards. She is possessed! Mortified, the students fight her and throw her into the cellar. Soon after they lock Cheryl in, Shelly too becomes a demon. Scott decides to shoot her and run for his life.
During this, Annie and Ed are lost in the woods. The couple agrees to trust a stranger they encounter in the woods. The only way to find their way to the cabin is to follow good old reliable Jake, played by Marclare Curry.
Back at the cabin, Scott returns, only to drop dead on the floor after his tree attack. Linda became a demon as well. Ash had to terminate Linda by chopping her head off with an axe and chain sawing her skull. During this bloody scene, Annie, Ed and Jake burst into the cabin only to discover Ash drenched in blood. Thus, the end of the first act.
During the 20 minute intermission, the 131 guests were able to go outside the theatre or get a tour of the old historic building. The mini tour began with an elevator ride up two floors, where guests viewed the entire east village. While making your way back down to the first floor, the stairway led to two art galleries. It was in these rooms where you could appreciate the paintings and drawings of local artists.
During the second act, Ash tries to explain to Annie, Ed and Jake what they just witnessed. Cheryl attacks Ed making him the next demon. Ed is immediately shot by Ash, who described Ed as nothing more than a bit part demon. After this, Annie is shocked to see the ghost of her father, who advices her to read from the missing pages of the Book of the Dead to end the curse. But when Annie thought the horror would soon be over, Ash is then possessed and takes Jake outside with him. In an attempt to help Jake, Annie grabs a dagger and stabs thru the door crease but stabs Jake not Ash. Annie brings Jake inside the cabin and lays him close to the cellar where Cheryl drags him in.
Annie begins to read from the book to put all this to an end. After reading aloud the first couple of words all the demons come back to life thus, a big musical scene. Ash, finds himself in a battle with all the demons. He kills them, one by one, creating a huge blood war. The audience in the first three rows were splattered with red food coloring. Annie dies after she finishes reading the passages and send the demons back to hell thru a portal. The musical ends with Ash working at S-mart a few days later after that weekend. He was so stoked about his experience that he gathers several customers to share his story. The customers weren’t too convinced in Ash’s slaying ability until he kills a demon right in front of them, becoming the stereotype hero of every story.
The musical was entertaining and comical. Several audience members walked out the 10th Avenue Theatre with red food coloring stains on their clothes. “Humorous, I enjoyed it; even though the production value wasn’t high, it was overall a cute show,” said Andrea Wright. Evil Dead: The Musical had strong adult language and content. It was rated, at least, PG-13. Ryan Anders brought his two children with him on closing night, “They enjoyed it. I am more lenient than most parents. The ratings were appropriate about its sexual content.”