‘Evil Dead The Musical HD’ Review: A Reimagining of the Cult Classic Hit

For those who have seen any film in the “Evil Dead” franchise, it might seem like an impossible undertaking to adapt the franchise’s signature slapstick horror to the stage. Messing with any beloved commercial property is almost always grounds for widespread backlash, but “Evil Dead The Musical HD” treats the source material with such originality and reverence that by the end, one is left wondering why it wasn’t made any sooner.

“Evil Dead The Musical HD” runs at BCA Plaza Theatre until Feb. 25 and stars Brian McGee as Ash Williams. Like Bruce Campbell, the iconic star of the movie franchise, McGee plays the role with a comedic straightness that bolsters the increasing absurdity of events as they unfold on stage — which in this case is composed entirely of high definition LED screens. Animated in a 3-D style, the setting is not far off from the virtual realities of modern television series such as Disney+’s “The Mandalorian.”

Despite adhering to the original film’s classic set-up of five college students staying the night at an abandoned cabin in the woods, “Evil Dead The Musical HD” never feels stale and always finds inventive ways to keep the audience engaged. For instance, the audience plays an active role in the musical’s bloodiest scenes, getting soaked with a geyser of red fruit juice any time a character is shot, slashed, or dismembered on stage. And if the geyser somehow doesn’t manage to hit an audience member in the “Splatter Zone,” they are bound to be squirted at one time or another by in-musical characters equipped with fruit juice-laden Super Soakers.

In another production, this interactive component might come to dominate or smother the show, but in “Evil Dead The Musical HD” it is more of a welcome surprise and less of a one-note gimmick. This is because the rest of the production — including the acting, singing, set design, costumes, and props — are a joy to behold. If Brian McGee embodies Bruce Campbell in the musical form of “Evil Dead,” Phil Laks (Scott), Christine Armenion (Cheryl), Sara Landry (Linda), and Tommi Lynn Silva (Annie/Shelly) likewise epitomize — if not elevate — their on-screen counterparts. Theater is an excellent medium to handle over-the-top characters, and “Evil Dead” has absolutely no shortage of them.

In particular, the show’s campy musical numbers bring a distinct liveliness to the archetypal characters — living and non-living — of the “Evil Dead” universe. Whether it is Ash and Scott’s stunning rendition of “What the F#%k Was That?” after a lead character’s death, the old man in the woods confidently introducing himself as “Good Old Reliable Jake,” or the demons coming together to perform “Do the Necronomicon,” every song tugs the story in surprising and delightful directions.

When it is not the hilarious songs taking center stage, it is the comedic gags that keep “Evil Dead The Musical HD” brimming with campy energy. Where the original “Evil Dead” movie relied heavily on first-person cinematography, scarlet rivers of blood, and gruesome body horror, “Evil Dead The Musical HD” capitalizes on the unique aspects of live performance in ways that the film medium could only ever dream of replicating. Stagehands, for example, double as performers, giving exasperated sighs when characters engage in bloody mayhem — and thereby create a bigger mess to clean up later. Moreover, Taylor Cloutier’s performance as a possessed tree is laugh-out-loud hilarious — at one point, her tree costume has been mysteriously switched out for a green t-shirt asking the audience to “Pretend I’m a Tree.”

Ultimately, this is why “Evil Dead The Musical HD” succeeds. It does not try to be an entirely faithful adaptation of the original source material; instead, it retains many of the elements that make the originals great, while also adding new and exciting elements of its own.

—Staff writer Joseph A. Johnson can be reached at joseph.johnson@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @onlyjoejohnson or on Threads @officialjoeyj.