Evil Dead the Musical

The Australian Premiere of Evil Dead the Musical is a schlocky, blood-filled parody of the Evil Dead series and horror movies in general. Self-aware, and not taking itself very seriously, it is well-directed with high production values and a talented cast and crew.

The ubiquitous ‘cabin in the woods’ designed by Luke Miller was brought to life by the cast and crew, with lots of pop-up and pop-out surprises. The show was spectacularly lit by Shelly Miller, with a fabulous blend of horror and “show”. Stella Sawyer’s costumes are character appropriate and of the era, and cleverly destroyed throughout the show, with masks by Kylana Mcintosh giving a great horror touch. Chris McRae’s sound design is clever and edgy. Breanne Lucas has provided some fun choreography - especially the biggest dance number – “The Necrinomicon”.

Kieran Ridgway makes a spectacular directorial debut and has assembled a top-quality cast. Luke Miller, perhaps a little mature to play a college student (but so are most of the movie actors) is excellent and in his element as central character Ash, who finds that he is excellent at destroying Kandarian Demons. A strong anchoring performance acted and sung well.

Escher Roe is good fun as sweet and sensible little sister Cheryl, who transforms into a four-mouthed demon. An audience favourite, she overcame a first-act microphone failure to deliver a great performance. Ellie Coburn also makes a fantastic transformation from Ash’s “perfect girlfriend” to an expressive decapitated demon.

Jordan Richards is believable as misogynistic “best mate” Scott, while Clayton van Dijk nicely inhabits hillbilly Jake. Max Leunig is great as overlooked, interrupted Ed, doubling nicely as a talking moose head. Naomi Capon pulls an impressive double as sweetly stupid Shelly, and intelligent, determined Annie, with Alyssa Burton relishing a series of cameos, and completing the cast well.

Singing is strong under the Musical Direction of Jasper Cruden, who also leads a talented four-piece band - although there were some complaints that some words and lyrics were hard to understand amidst the yelling and screaming.

Obviously not for everyone - as there were some interval departures - a little surprising as this show does “exactly what it says on the box” and does not lack for talent. Patrons in the front few rows should also be warned to take a change of clothes if they are planning to go elsewhere after the show - as they may be spattered with blood.

Cultish, gory, and full of surprises, Evil Dead is a departure from Wanneroo Repertory’s usual fare and may well attract new audiences. A silly but clever parody - nicely ‘executed’.

Kimberley Shaw