Evil Theater

You know the word “sophomoric?” Don’t bother looking it up, all you have to do is pony up a few bucks and go see the new off-Broadway production of Evil Dead; The Musical. It’s at New World Stages on West 50th St. and, unfortunately, a bunch of sophomores are alive and well and proving just how unfunny they can be. I would like to say they are one step up from freshmen but, really, it’s only about a third grade level of competence. I don’t mind camp, goodness knows, I fell like a ton of bricks for “Bat Boy” and “Shanghai Moon” a couple of years ago and I’m a huge fan of ridiculous and farcical theater. I should have known better about actually forking over real money for Evil Dead when I saw an ad for it touting special pricing for seating in the “splatter zone.” I think my actual response was a loud “uh oh!” When I told a couple of buds that I had tickets; one of them said, “Oh, did you lose a bet or something?”

I seem to have done that very thing. I was looking forward to seeing what actually happens in the promised splatter zone and, although basic instinct advised otherwise, came back from intermission to witness it. I must confess it was fun seeing a bunch of kids make a mess of things. It was even more fun seeing three young members of the audience trying to clean up in the men’s room afterwards. Evil Dead seems to have already developed a cult following and there was a lot of knowledgeable audience participation but, luckily, I prefer sticking needles in my eyes and drinking poisoned Kool Aid to satisfy my cult-ish needs.

Evil Dead is gross and a bloody mess; and not just because of the vital organs scattered about and the extravagant amounts of blood spilled. The cast is young and enthusiastic and they sometimes sing well but, oh c’mon, everybody needs to grow up and go to acting school and learn the basic tenet(s) on playing farce! Listen kid, you have to play it straight, make your character as real as possible, pay attention to timing and let the material carry the comic weight, if any. Mugging and flopping around ain’t funny; no matter what your Aunt Bea told you.

Maybe I’m being too rough on this piece of off-Broadway experimentation, and I admit that my two companions enjoyed the show more than I did and were able to accept the show for what it was. Anita Gates, in her NY Times review said "Sure, the show is idiotic, but that's the point." So maybe it’s my own fault for being a curmudgeon and requiring more competence on their side of the footlights. Naw. Whatever, it's NOT the next Rocky Horror Show but go see it if you want. It's a blast of fetid air.