Musical Theater Southwest gets 'campy' with 'Evil Dead the Musical'

The stage will run red with blood as the campy, demon-raising production “Evil Dead the Musical” comes to Musical Theatre Southwest.

“It’s pooling content from all three of the original movies and creating one show,” Laura Cummins-Wright, show director, said.

Landon Ruiz, who plays Scott, said a favorite for audiences will be the recognizable references from the film franchise.

“It will probably be the blood, as well as the iconic images throughout the show,” Ruiz said. “The Necronomicon, the chainsaw hand.”

The show opens Friday, Oct. 3, and runs through Oct. 26, which Cummins-Wright said is the perfect time slot for those looking for events during the Halloween season.

“The entire vibe of this show works so well for October,” Cummins-Wright said.

“It’s a cult classic that will remind you of like ‘Rocky Horror’ vibes,” Cummins-Wright said. “But there’s also an immersive splatter zone in the show.”

The show features two immersive seating areas: the VIP Cabin Experience and the VIP Splash-Zone Experience.

The VIP Splash-Zone Experience gives up to 13 people the opportunity to be splattered with fake blood throughout the show. A white shirt is provided for picture opportunities, Cummins-Wright said.

“I feel like the movies take themselves a little bit more seriously than the musical does,” Jesse Miller, who plays Ash, said. “The musical itself is extremely campy.”

The musical consists of 26 songs, and Cummins-Wright said she hopes the mixture of callbacks to the film and musical aspect will draw people in.

“We’re hoping to also capture theater lovers as well,” Cummins-Wright said. “So (it) definitely brings in a couple of different audience types.”

She said that the tone was set early on by the actors to be committed to a “campy type of comedy,” which, for Miller, was a different experience.

“I get casted into very kind of dark and grim characters,” Miller said. “So for this one to be actually a little bit outlandish and a little bit crazy, just so campy, it’s definitely having me kind of channel my inner James T. Kirk a little bit in the show.”

Ruiz said preparing for the show was one of the most “relaxed, fun, talented” processes, even with the elements like fake blood. Rehearsals would get paused because “we’re all laughing at each other,” Ruiz said.

Cummins-Wright said that directing everyone through this process has been exciting and different. She said that this musical is different from others she has produced.

“And I think that’s why directing ‘Evil Dead’ has been so exciting, because it’s like no other show I’ve directed, been in, (or) that we’ve seen around town,” Cummins-Wright said.

Musical Theater Southwest gets 'campy' with 'Evil Dead the Musical'