Evil Dead: The Musical to Haunt New World Stages

According to Variety, zombies will soon be singing and dancing Off-Broadway. A musical based on the cult horror hit Evil Dead will begin performances at New World Stages on October 2nd and open on November 1st.

The show will be a musicalization of the 1981 Sam Raimi film of the title. That director also helmed two sequels--Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness; the films are known for mixing horror and gore with humorously cheesy special effects and one-liners. All starred Bruce Campbell.

In the film, a boy and his friends manage to release an unspeakable evil by getting hold of the Book of the Dead, which turns all but one of them into bloodthirsty zombies.

Three-time Tony Award-winner Hinton Battle (Chicago, Miss Saigon, The Tap Dance Kid) will co-direct the musical with Christopher Bond. Bond, along with George Reinblatt and Frank Cipolla, is one of the musical's creator/writers. Evil Dead: The Musical, after being workshopped in Toronto, premiered at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal in 2004. Just for Laughs will produce the musical along with Jenkay and Jeffrey Latimer Entertainment.

"Production hopes to capitalize on midnight B-movie associations by offering perfs at 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, along with evening curtain times Monday through Saturday. Front rows of the auditorium will be labeled 'Splatter Zone,'" states the article.

Visit www.newworldstages.com for more information on New World Stages.