Evil Dead The Musical lives again in Medicine Hat

“There’s quite a few gory death scenes in the musical and during those scenes, the audience members can expect to be showered with blood just like us the actors up on stage will be,” Latimer explains.

Ryan Holdaway, who plays Jake, is a big fan of the splatter zone.

He says spraying audience members with fake blood has been his favourite aspect of being part of the show and recommends wearing white in the splatter zone to get the full experience.

Or you could go the other way and wear a poncho, “If you want to be a coward about it,” he says.

The musical is based on the Evil Dead movie series which has gathered a cult following since the first film in 1981 about a group who unleash havoc in a cabin in the woods.

Medicine Hat Musical Theatre staged the show in 2011 and has been hounded by people inside and outside the company to bring it back. Producer Shelby Haga says people came out of the woodwork to be involved when they heard Evil Dead The Musical was returning and they are closing in on the show being a sellout.

Haga says you don’t need to have seen the movies to enjoy the musical.

“I have never watched Evil Dead, I have seen the show top to bottom about 10 plus times now and I absolutely love it,” she explains. “I know I’m biased but no, you don’t have to watch the movies. Movie-goers will know the iconic lines but for anybody, you’re going to enjoy it. It’s hilarious, it’s got tons of blood, tons of light, tons of effects. I don’t think anybody will be disappointed.”

When the pandemic limited their ability to stage plays, Medicine Hat Musical Theatre went to work upgrading the playhouse. Haga says those allow them to go bigger and better than in 2011 and to do the show justice with better lighting, sound and special effects.

Holdaway and Latimer wanted to be part of the show for similar reasons, saying that even though the show is full of gory and bloody deaths there are plenty of laughs.

Holdaway says the campiness of it poking fun at the traditional horror movie conventions attracted him. Latimer says it’s the perfect show for Halloween season.

It’s the greatest combination of gory and a little bit spooky but at the same time just fun,” she explains. “I mean Halloween as a holiday is scary and you know there’s the horror component of it but it’s also just a really fun time.”

There are nine showings of Evil Dead The Musical from Oct. 14-29. For tickets, showtimes and more information visit mhmtheatre.com.

Note: This story has been updated to correct the number of shows. There are nine from Oct. 14-29.

by Chris Brown

Evil Dead The Musical lives again in Medicine Hat

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