News in Sarasota Florida

Evil Dead: The Musical. It's like the musicals you love, only evil!
Venice Theatre spoofs ‘80s horror movies with death, dismemberment and dance numbers

Venice Theatre's first Cabaret show of the 2010-2011 Season is a kitschy musical spoof of Sam Raimi's B-horror flicks from the 1980s. Telling the gory (and very funny) tale of five college students stranded in an abandoned cabin in the woods, this cult favorite opens on Venice Theatre's Pinkerton Stage Friday, August 13 and runs through Sunday, August 29, 2010. Performances are at 8 p.m. on Tuesdays through Saturdays with 2 p.m. matinees on Sundays. Tickets are $24 for adults, $12 for students and can be purchased online at venicestage.com or by calling the box office at (941) 488-1115. Discounts are available for groups of 20 or more. Patrons can request in advance to be seated in the “splatter zone” where they will be close enough to the mayhem to be splattered with stage blood. It has become customary for fans who sit in the splatter zone to wear white t-shirts which are then kept as souvenirs of the event.

Described by The New York Times as “the next Rocky Horror Show,” Evil Dead: The Musical adds to Venice Theatre's reputation for doing cutting-edge shows in the black box Pinkerton Theatre. Like Venice Theatre's productions of The Rocky Horror Show and Reefer Madness, Evil Dead: The Musical falls into the cult-film-turned-musical genre and is expected to bring a younger-than-usual crowd to Venice Theatre. Director Allan Kollar warns ahead of “adult language and lots of spurting blood”, but he also says that patrons who haven't seen the movies will “still enjoy the show for the musical comedy, the strong cast and the fact that it's hilarious.” New York Times reviewer Anita Gates, who gave a positive review of the 2006 Off-Broadway production, agreed with Kollar, saying that “horror comedy is, to say the least, a highly accessible genre … sure the show is idiotic, but that's the point.”

Evil Dead: the Musical originated in Toronto with the approval of the movies' director, Sam Raimi, and star, Bruce Campbell. It quickly moved to New York and has since been produced all over the United States, Canada and Asia. The rock-n-roll score directed by Jason Brenner and dance numbers ranging from tangos to the “Necronomican” (think “Time Warp”) choreographed by Colleen Buchmeier, will keep the action moving as the characters in the cabin discover a 13th-century book of the dead, accidentally unleash evil forces, and are overcome by Candarian Demons.

Tickets for Evil Dead: The Musical are on sale now at (941) 488-1115 and www.venicestage.com. Season subscriptions for the Cabaret, MainStage, Stage II and Generations Series are also on sale. Single tickets for the entire 2010-2011 Season go on sale the day after Labor Day. Summer box office hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The box office is also open one hour before all performances. Venice Theatre is located at 140 W. Tampa Ave. on the island in Venice.

Evil Dead: The Musical

Book and Lyrics by George Reinblatt

Music by Frank Cipolla, Christopher Bond, Melissa Morris and George Reinblatt

Production Staff

Director and Scenic Designer – Allan Kollar

Musical Director – Jason Brenner

Choreographer – Colleen Buchmeier

Stage Manager – Sue Brennan

Assistant Director – Daniel Greene

Costume Designer - Nicholas Hartman

Makeup Designers – Nicholas Hartman and Jenn Polkowski

Technical Director - John Andzulis

Assistant Technical Director and Lighting Designer - Derick Kitson

Sound Designer - Dorian Boyd

Props Master - Steve Credeur

Special Props Designer – Suzinn Edelston

Cast

Ash – Kyle Luckett

Linda – Hayley Balliet

Cheryl – Caitlin Longstreet

Shelly – Geena M. Ravella

Annie – Gianna Campo

Scott – Scott Vitale

Jake – Kelly Leissler

Ed – Steve O'Dea

Candarian Dancers

Jeremy Stone

Grace Vitale

Jenna Renee Judy

Becky Pokorny



Captions for attached photo

1. Ash, played by Kyle Luckett (right), protects one of his friends, Shelly, (Geena M. Ravella) from Candarian demons Jeremy Stone and Caitlyn Longstreet.