[EVENT REVIEW] SAW: The Musical, Los Angeles Run
Saw: The Musical can be described as many things.
“It’s crude. It’s lewd. It’s gory. It’s gay.
Oh, golly, is it gay.”
Created by Cooper Jordan (who also serves as lead producer), Saw: The Musical is currently playing weekly at the Hudson Theatres in Los Angeles through December 31, mostly on Sundays and Mondays. The “Unauthorized Parody of Saw” runs roughly an hour and a half long, not including intermission. It is recommended for ages 16+, however, parental discretion is strongly advised due to adult themes. Children under 6 years old will not be permitted to enter, per the show’s website.
Aside from the, shall we say, “creative liberties” that naturally come with a parody, fans of the Saw movie franchise will not have many surprises in terms of general plot lines. The play takes place almost entirely in the all-too-familiar grungy bathroom setting of the original 2004 Saw film and hits all the same story beats. Most of the characters you would remember from the movie are present in some shape or form (meticulously and hilariously juggled by the show’s humble three-person cast).
Yet, while the show successfully retells the now over 20-year story of Jigsaw Killer John Kramer and victims Adam and Dr. Lawrence Gordon, where Saw: The Musical truly shines is when it deliberately and mercilessly takes the piss (and quite frankly, every other imaginable bodily fluid) out of the original film.
Fans of Saw (the movie) will appreciate how Saw: The Musical often deflates its source material without outright disrespecting or belittling it. By making not-so-subtle nods and jabs to details and storylines throughout the entirety of the Saw canon, Jigsaw claims yet another victim: the suspension of disbelief often needed in the horror genre, and that is not a bad thing. At the show’s media and industry night (held on March 31, 2025), the audience not only laughed – it cackled – through the entire performance.
Of course, there’s also the fact that the show is -indeed- a musical. While the lyrics may have been raunchy and humorous, the singing was by no means a joke.
The Los Angeles production was directed by Stephanie Rosenberg, and stars a host of talented actors and actresses, who – in various combinations throughout the run – will fill multiple roles in the show. That cast includes Alyssa Corella, Jack Cathcart, Reagan Osborne, Jesse Townes, Abigail Torrence, Brody Sitton, Riley Nottingham, Dee Miller, and Brendan McKay.
Located at 6539 Santa Monica Blvd. (just down the street from LA’s famed Hollywood Forever Cemetery), the Hudson Theatre is an intimate 99-seat venue. Though audiences will be able to see a majority of the performance, seats further back may have somewhat obscured views of any action that takes place low to or on the ground, depending on who is sitting in front of you.
Overall, the show is an entertaining tongue-in-cheek tribute to what has become a classic horror franchise.
It’s silly. It’s perverted. It’s mildly uncomfortable. And yet, it’s still vividly familiar. And all that is what makes it worth the price of admission.
Those not in the LA area can catch the show in New York through Sept. 1, or at one if its dates on its national tour kicking off in Portland, Oregon in May.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit sawthemusical.com.
Words and Photos by: Alex Dominguez
