Mayo Performing Arts Center gets into the spirit of the season with two delightful treats for people who enjoy celebrating Halloween. For those who enjoy ghoulish fun, MPAC unleashes the mayhem and madness of EVIL DEAD - THE MUSICAL on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at 8 pm. Tickets are $29-$59. For people who like their Halloween fun to be a little "wicked," BEWITCHED BROADWAY features four former stars of Wicked performing the greatest Broadway hits that audiences love to hear on Friday, October 30, 2015 at 8 pm. Tickets are $29-59.
EVIL DEAD - THE MUSICAL tells the outrageous story of five college friends spending the weekend in an abandoned cabin in the woods after accidentally unleashing an evil force that turns them all into demons. The original production, based on the Evil Dead film franchise, opened 11 years ago in Toronto and enjoyed an immensely popular run, with 150 productions eventually presented in cities around the world with sold-out houses and rave reviews from critics. "EVIL DEAD - THE MUSICAL is the most fun you can have at the theatre. It's a show everyone loves - even if you don't love musicals," said Corey Ross, president of
Starvox Entertainment.
Those familiar with EVIL DEAD - THE MUSICAL will remember that audience members sitting in the designated "Splatter Zone" (the first 4 rows) get covered in fake blood as the production incorporates some fun 'real-life' effects during certain scenes. In addition to some dismembered limbs, demons telling bad jokes, and catchy tunes ("Look Who's Evil Now", "All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed by Candarian Demons"), the show features a saucy combination of wit and sexual innuendo that keeps audiences laughing out loud. More information is at
www.evildeadthemusical.com.
BEWITCHED BROADWAY, specifically created for Mayo Performing Arts Center, stars Mandy Gonzalez ( "In The Heights" and "Wicked"),
Kate Reinders ("Something Rotten" and "Wicked"),
Jenna Leigh Green ("bare," "Wicked") and Kristoffer Cussick ("First Date, the Musical," "Wicked"), who come together to celebrate Broadway, and the big green hit that has been a cultural phenomenon for over a decade - WICKED.
The performance is directed by
Alan Muraoka. Musical director. The four-piece band is led by Jesse Vargar. The program produced by
Telly Leung,
Mike Karns and
Rich Aronstein.
Mandy Gonzalez played the role of Nina Rosario in the 2008 Tony Award winning musical In The Heights, a role she created in the Off-Broadway production for which she received a Drama Desk Award. Mandy starred as Elphaba in the Broadway blockbuster Wicked. Mandy made her Broadway debut as Princess Amneris in the
Tim Rice/
Elton John musical AIDA. She appeared in the musical Lennon, based on the life of
John Lennon and
Yoko Ono, and she also starred opposite
Michael Crawford as Sarah in Dance of the Vampires.
Jenna Leigh Green Played Nessarose in the Broadway, LA and 1st Nat companies of Wicked (Elphaba cover). Other NY: The Anthem (
Culture Project) bare (
Dodger Theatricals), Chick Flick (Loft 227), Its On and Standby with NYMF, Forever Deadward at New World Stages as well as numerous workshops and readings. TV/Film: Libby Chessler on Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Guest staring roles on Bones, Ghost Whisperer, Castle, Cold Case, ER, Dharma and Greg. Feature film credits include You Again, and the upcoming My Eleventh, Hard Sell and I am Michael.
Kate Reinders is currently playing Portia in the Broadway's Something Rotten. On Broadway, she's appeared as Glinda in Wicked, June in
Sam Mendes' revival of Gypsy starring
Bernadette Peters, Caroline in the Beach Boys musical Good Vibrations, and in the 2002 revival of Into the Woods. Other theatre credits include A Year With Frog and Toad (Original Cast recording), Nerds (New York Stage and Film), and Party Come Here (
Williamstown Theatre Festival). On television, Kate was a series regular on ABC's Work It and Lifetime's Sherri, and has guest-starred on Anger Management, Modern Family, and Ugly Betty. Film credits include Grudge Match, Such Good People, Certainty, and Kinsey. She just finished the lab of the new musical Something Rotten! in New York and can soon be seen in the family film Russell Madness, in theatres February 21st. As half of the singing/songwriting comedy duo "Tastiskank", she has performed at New York's 54 Below, the TBS Comedy Festival in Las Vegas and the HBO Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, where they received the 2007 Breakout Award.
Kristoffer Cussick . Broadway: If/Then (u/s Lucas), First Date (Man 2), Hands On A Hardbody (standby for Benny, Jesus), Wicked (Fiyero), Saturday Night Fever (Gus). Tours: 1st National Rent (Angel, u/s Mark), original Los Angeles and Chicago companies of Wicked (Fiyero). Off-Broadway/Regional: ACT San Francisco's world premier of Tales Of The City, The Extraordinary Ordinary, Dearboy's War and Los Angeles World Premier of Bare. Film/Television: Rock and Roll (HBO), Person of Interest (CBS), The Good Wife (CBS), Ugly Betty (ABC), After Hours (Comedy Central), Pretty Cool (HBO), Guiding Light (CBS), Before I Do and Test
Mayo Performing Arts Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, presents a wide range of programs that entertain, enrich, and educate the diverse population of the region and enhance the economic vitality of Northern New Jersey. The 2015-2016 season is made possible, in part, by a grant the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as support received from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, F.M. Kirby Foundation and numerous corporations, foundations and individuals. The Mayo Performing Arts Center has been designated a Major Presenting Organization by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
Pictured: EVIL DEAD - David Sajewich and Callie Johnson. Photo by Peter Coombs; BEWITCHED BROADWAY (clockwise from top left) - Kate Reindeers, Mandy Gonzalez, Kristoffer Cussick, Jenna Leigh Green. Photo courtesy of RJ Productions.
