Actorsingers present Evil Dead The Musical HD
While rehearsing the second act of Evil Dead The Musical HD, director Matty Gregg told the Actorsingers cast to “suspend all disbelief,” a phrase that is at the essence of this show.
The Nashua-based theater company’s production will run from Thursday, Aug. 24, to Sunday, Sept. 3, at Janice B. Streeter Theater in Nashua.
Sam Raimi’s 1980s horror cult classic film The Evil Dead was adapted into a musical in 2000 that combined the plot of the three Evil Dead movies, following five college kids at a cabin in the woods. Gregg reimagined the musical in 2016, creating an HD version.
“I started working on a different production of it,” Gregg said. “There’s some limitations of things you can do as a stage musical, so I tried basically to bring a lot of the movie side of things back to the musical.”
This resulted in the creation of a virtual set modeled after the cabin from the movie with a screen on the floor and wall that allows the set to digitally rotate. Gregg debuted this version while living in San Jose, where the production gained a following and he realized the show appealed to a variety of audiences. It also garnered the attention of George Reinblatt, the writer of the musical, and Bruce Campbell, who played the lead, Ash Williams, in the film version, both of whom Gregg would collaborate with and create the splatter zone.
“We have a splatter zone where we invest a lot of money in the ability to deliver blood to the audience,” Gregg said. “If somebody gets killed on stage the blood can splatter all over the audience at the same time … in the first two or three rows.”
Playing these iconic characters comes with challenges and pressure to live up to the role while still making the part one’s own.
“With such a cult following, there are lines that must be to the T because everybody’s going to come in and they’re going to remember from the movie,” said Phil Laks, who plays the role of Scotty.
Ryan Gibeau who plays Ash, adds, “There’s a lot of things that are already part of the character that Bruce Campbell developed and so there’s this duty to almost bring the original energy of the show that a lot of people are expecting,” he said. “I found places where there’s a lot of creative freedom for me, and so I’ve just tried to figure out what I think is going to be a fun audience experience.”
Performing the HD version also comes with challenges of its own, like having to work with the screens and follow the cabin while it is rotating, according to Christine Armenion, who plays Ash’s younger sister, Cheryl. Despite having just a six-week rehearsal period, Gregg said the process has been great.
“The actors are wonderful,” he said. “They’re very talented.”
Gregg describes the show as “a really fun, irreverent, campy, gory good time.”
“One of the main messages of this show in general is just to forget about all the stuff that’s happening in your life outside and just come have a really fun time,” he said.
Actorsingers present Evil Dead The Musical HD
When: Thursday, Aug. 24, at 8 p.m.; Friday, Aug. 25, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 26, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Aug. 27, at 6 p.m.; Thursday, Aug. 31, at 8 p.m.; Friday, Sept. 1, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 2, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 3, at 6 p.m.
Where: Janice B. Streeter Theater, 14 Court St., Nashua
Cost: Tickets range from $25 to $30
More info: Visit actorsingers.org
