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PREVIEW | Evil Dead: The Musical Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary With A Return To Toronto

By Anya Wassenberg on July 31, 2024

Scene from Evil Dead: The Musical (Photo courtesy of Starvox Entertainment)
Scene from Evil Dead: The Musical (Photo courtesy of Starvox Entertainment)

Evil Dead: The Musical began as a legendary Toronto theatre experience, one that went on to conquer the world with its blend of catchy music and high camp. It’s based on the cult classic film series of the 1980s, The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Army of Darkness by director Sam Raimi.

The plot is horror movie iconic: five college students and a cabin in the woods… What could go wrong? Plenty, as it turns out. After the students turn into demons, it’s up to Ash, the wisecracking anti-hero, to save the day.

The show is returning to the city where it started for the first time in seven years.

Scene from Evil Dead: The Musical (Photo courtesy of Starvox Entertainment)
Scene from Evil Dead: The Musical (Photo courtesy of Starvox Entertainment)

The Evil Dead: A Musical And A Toronto Theatre Legend

With a book and lyrics by George Reinblatt, and music from a team consisting of Frank Cipolla, Christopher Bond, Melissa Morris and George Reinblatt, the show opened in 2003 with the full blessing of both the movie series creator Sam Raimi, and its star, Bruce Campbell (Ash), and by a special arrangement with Renaissance Pictures, Ltd. & Studio Canal Image, S.A.

The setting was Toronto’s Tranzac Club, and the show opened in workshop form on August 13, 2003. The next day, of course, was August 14, 2003 — the day of the great blackout of northeastern North America.

Then Queen’s University theatre student Chris Bond, one of the performers, recalls the scene in a 2008 interview with CityTV News. As it became clear that the blackout, which began around 4 p.m., wasn’t going to end anytime soon, the production moved outside, using car headlights to illuminate the action on the impromptu stage.

“Instead of opening to an audience of 100 or 150 people we had about 500 people on the street checking us out. It was crazy,” Bond recalls.

The band switched to acoustic instruments, and sound effects were improvised by the cast members backstage.

With the added hype, onstage talent, and song titles like “All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed by Candarian Demons” and “What the F**k was That?”, the show was an immediate hit. The same production crew remounted Evil Dead for three weeks in October of that year. In 2004, it went on to the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, and then an off-Broadway production in New York City opened in 2006.

Since then, it’s been staged in more than 500 productions across the globe.

From the 2007 Broadway recording with the original cast:

A Toronto Return

Starvox Entertainment is behind the musical’s revival in the city.

“This show has a loyal fanbase because it is the craziest, funniest, bloodiest theatrical shows of all time. It’s not surprising that audiences continue to show us that they just can’t get enough of Evil Dead The Musical,” says Corey Ross, CEO of Starvox Entertainment, in a statement.

“We have seen fans returning to relive the experience and expect to see a whole new generation at this 20th Anniversary production who will be experiencing this wild night out for the very first time”.

  • The Toronto show takes place at The Randolph Theatre, and opens October 5. More information, and tickets, available [HERE].

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