Hiking to a seemingly abandoned cabin in the woods is unnecessary to see “Evil Dead: The Musical” running Nov. 13 to 23 at the University of Georgia Fine Arts Theatre. The cabin is right in front of the audience, pulling everyone into the chaos of the show once the curtain rises.
Aaron Coker on stage as Ash for the opening night of “Evil Dead: The Musical” on Thursday, Nov. 13 at the Fine Arts Theatre. (Photo/McKenna Edwards @mckennainmedia)
The musical follows a group of five friends who travel into the woods, finding a vacant cabin to call home for their spring break. As the group settles in, they soon realize nothing contained within the walls of this cabin is as it seems. Something scarier is among them and in the woods.
“It’s been a very different experience,” Nora Feeney, the actress who plays Linda, said. “You don’t play a zombie or a demon on stage every day, so trying to wrap my head around doing something completely opposite from what I’m normally doing every day as an actor, you know, you’re taught to be professional and silly and do what you’re supposed to, but we’re told to not even do the choreography correctly if we can.”
Feeney went into the musical blind, only watching the original films after getting cast as Linda. Her character is introduced as Ash’s girlfriend, who he meets at S-Mart, where they work on different aisles.
As the story unfolds, the cast leans heavily into comedy. Aaron Coker, who plays Ash, said he hopes everyone leaves the show with a smile on their face.He described the production as a collaborative environment where the audience gets to see everyone’s comedic capabilities on stage.
That energy carries into the staging as well. The musical brings the audience directly into the cabin with interactive elements, including a “splash zone” during Act Two that blocks off the first few rows. Ponchos are handed to anyone brave enough to sit in front and trash bags cover the seats they choose.
Jack Hemenway (left) and Aaron Coker (right) on stage as Scott and Ash during the opening night of “Evil Dead: The Musical” on Thursday, Nov. 13 at the Fine Arts Theatre.(Photo/McKenna Edwards @mckennainmedia)
“I’m hoping to be entirely drenched,” Madison Brantley, an audience member, said. “I told my friends, ‘Hey, I’ll be front row’ [and] they said, ‘Okay, word got it.’ So apparently they’re gonna get me really bad. I’m so excited.”
Although she attended the opening night performance on Nov. 13, Brantley is also involved behind the scenes. As a theatre department student, she worked on costumes and made some of the organs seen on stage.
Attendees grab their ponchos and prepare themselves during intermission for the “splash zone” for act two during the opening night of “Evil Dead: The Musical” on Thursday, Nov. 13 at the Fine Arts Theatre. (Photo/McKenna Edwards @mckennainmedia)
The cast’s chemistry, several members said, comes in part from time spent together before opening. They took a trip to Blairsville, Georgia staying a few nights in a cabin in the woods to bond outside the theatre and got to know each other outside of their characters.
“It’s a really funny show,” Lucy Hinton, deck chief for “Evil Dead: The Musical,” said. “I hope they’re a little bit just wowed by it. It’s very funny, very camp, very silly, but also it’s technically very cool. Obviously, there’s a lot of things that aren’t very realistic, but that’s kind of the point. And it’s still very fun and exciting. I hope that’s what they leave with it.”