'Evil Dead: The Musical' comes to Van Wezel in Sarasota and Tampa's Straz
It's not a cautionary message that you often see when you attend a musical comedy at a major performing arts hall.
"Premium seating is a splatter zone," read the bright-red words on the on the Van Wezel Arts Hall's website. "Warning: Fake blood that may not wash out completely from clothing."
The show is "Evil Dead: The Musical." It's a cult comedy hit based on the cult horror "Evil Dead" movies.
It's coming to Van Wezel for one show, at 8 p.m. Tuesday. (It will also have a three-show run at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa Nov. 13-15.)
The people who have been coming to the show, which is on its first national tour, don't mind a bit of splatter.
"We tear down that fourth wall," said David Sajewich, who plays Ash in the touring production. "Audience members can yell out to us, and they do, and it's great."
"Evil Dead: The Musical" has been around for 11 years now, and Sajewich said that even when it comes to a city for the first time, audiences know what kind of show to expect. The show is rambunctious, and it works best when the audience is too, he said.
"The show's always better with a little alcohol in you," he said, offering some advice to potential audience members.
The show was an instant hit when it premiered in Toronto in 2003. It moved to New York three years later for a successful Off-Broadway run.
It's based on a trilogy of horror films directed by Sam Raimi in the 1980s and '90s. The first two, "The Evil Dead" and "The Evil Dead II" are basically straight horror movies. The third, "Army of Darkness," is a slapstick horror-comedy.
The musical combines elements of all three.
"The show's plot is like an amalgamation of the first and second movies," Sajewich said. "The vibe is more like the third one, in terms of campiness and going over the top."
Even though it's been 22 years since the release of "Army of Darkness," the "Evil Dead" franchise remains popular. A new "Evil Dead" film, the first not directed by Raimi, came out last year. And on Tuesday came the announcement that Starz would be producing a TV series follow-up to the original films. Bruce Campbell, the star of the first three movies, is set to star in the Starz version.
The current U.S. tour of the musical was cast out of Chicago, using mostly local professional actors. It's the first national tour for Sajewich and some of his castmates. It's also the first experience some of them have ever had with "The Evil Dead."
"When I got this role, I figured 'I should probably watch this movie,' " he said. "So we got the whole cast together and we watched all three. It was really fun."
Details: 8 p.m. Nov. 18, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets: $15-$50. Information: 941-953-3368, vanwezel.org.
Marty Clear, features writer/columnist, can be reached at 941-708-7919. Follow twitter.com/martinclear.
This story was originally published November 13, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "'Evil Dead: The Musical' comes to Van Wezel in Sarasota and Tampa's Straz."