BWW Reviews: EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL is a Bloody, Fun Production

This is a tale filled with blood, and lots of it, guts, and glory, but this is not the latest scary, slasher, horror film at the movies. This is Evil Dead The Musical. The Ringwald Theatre and Olympia Entertainment bring back the musical, based on the cult classic movies, to the City Theatre in the Hockeytown Cafe in Detroit for the month of October. The show is a great way to get in the mood for the Halloween season, but remember that it includes "fountains of blood with a mind of its own."

One warning: if you do not like blood, this is not the show for you. But if you do enjoy blood, guts, and a lot of hilarious comedy, this is the show for you. From start to finish, Evil Dead The Musical is entertaining and extremely hilarious. And while the show could just rely on good comedic actors, it actually has a cast of extremely talented singers, no matter how ridiculous the songs may be. The cast also does a fantastic job of achieving the typical stereotypes of their characters, yet making them their own.

The lead character Ash is played by Pete Podolski and he does not disappoint in his portrayal of the well-known character. He has a great voice and a fantastic stage presence. Watch for his hilarious facial expressions throughout the show. He also delivers all the cult classic lines such as "I'm the guy with the gun" and "this is my boom stick" that make the already enthusiastic crowd cheer and say the lines with him. Podoloski is also a very honest actor and makes it easy to believe that he is Ash and that Ash really believes in what he doing. Overall, he is just very entertaining throughout the entire show.

Tara Tomcsik impressively plays the dual roles of Shelly and Annie. While her costumes and wigs help her transition between characters, it is the little things she does on stage with her body language and voice that really separate the two characters. She has great comedic timing and does well with different voices for her characters, never faltering or using the wrong one with the wrong character. Plus with how tiny Tomcsik is, it is amazing to hear the powerful voice that comes out of her when she sings.

Cheryl, Ash's sister, is played by Heather Sejnow and she is just plain hilarious throughout the show. Without giving away what happens in the plot to those who have not seen it, Sejnow does a fantastic job of really defining her character as she changes throughout the show. She also has a powerhouse voice that resonates through the theatre. Sejnow is hysterical, from her body language, voice inflection, and the way she delivers her lines, she is just down right funny with perfect comedic timing.

Scotty is your average jerk of guy and Sean May plays the role perfectly. He part is raunchy, over the top, and funny, but what really makes him stand out is the little things he does when the focus is not on him. He is entertaining to watch and one of his stand out moments, without giving anything away, has to do with intestines, so watch out for them.

Shari Mocheit plays Linda, Ash's love interest and she has this likability to her that gives her character an endearing quality. "Housewares Employee" is a great moment and cute duet between Ash and Linda that shows the great chemistry Podolski and Mocheit have on stage.

There is one main thing to be said about David Schoen is to listen for his amazing voice. Schoen plays Jake and is very good at his role, but while his comedic parts are funny, it is his singing voice that is just beautiful. Plus he is one of those type of actors that are joy to watch on stage because he shows the audience that is happy to be up there and having fun doing it.

Casey Hibbert is a perfect Ed. His timing with Tomcsik is fantastic when they are talking to one another. Along with Podolski, he has incredible facial expressions that make his character very entertaining and sometimes make you laugh harder then the spoken dialogue. Like Sejnaw's transition of Cheryl, Hibber's Ed transitions too, but without giving anything away, he does a great job at it and is very entertaining in his final moments.

Evil Dead The Musical is an entertaining, all around fun show. The cast works together wonderfully and has a great connection on stage. It is guaranteed to make you laugh and enjoy yourself. It is the perfect show to for the Halloween season and entertaining for fans for of the movies and people who have never seen them. If you really want to experience the show for all it can give, sit in the first five rows of the theatre, which is the splatter zone, but remember "the blood has a mind of it's own."

Evil Dead The Musical opened October 4^th and runs through October 27^th at the City Theatre inside Hockeytown Café in Detroit. For more information or tickets, visit www.theringwald.com.

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