[EVENT REVIEW] Evil Dead: The Musical
EVIL DEAD: THE MUSICAL at The Maverick Theater - Fullerton, CA
(I'm not a writer by any stretch, so be gentle) Yesterday evening, my friends, wife, and I ventured to The Maverick Theater in Fullerton, CA to check out their production of EVIL DEAD: THE MUSICAL. To my knowledge, this was the first go round for them (I could be wrong) but overall a good time was had by all.
The Maverick Theater isn't a stranger to the Horror Genre in having productions of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD every October (coming up on their 19th Season). I definitely have to check that one out.
This will be our second experience of EDTM after our first time this past October at the Tenth Avenue Arts Center in San Diego, CA. This venue has a record 42 consecutive sold out shows and will return in October for more.
There were definitely similarities between the two productions, but I enjoyed both very much.
The cast of The Maverick Theater were having an absolute blast on the stage, which translated to the audience. The cast included Steven Alcantar as our main protagonist, Ash Williams. Hailey Tweeter did double duty as both Annie & Shelly; Jaycob Hunter also juggled multiple characters; Scott & Jake. Samantha Green played Elana Harnack as Linda, and Aizaiah Soto as Ed.
As with Tenth Avenue, Cheryl was a standout with her puns aplenty and overall energy in the role. Unlike Tenth Avenue, the Maverick had a cellar for Cheryl to inhabit for most of the runtime. I thoroughly enjoyed Alcantar as Ash and think he got the mannerisms and confidence of our main character perfectly. Lastly, we LOVED Jaycob Hunter as Scotty and Jake. He was hamming it up hardcore the entire show and even got other cast members to crack during the production (some people don't like that, but I love it).
If I had to compare the productions, I would say that the cast was stronger at The Maverick Theater, but the Splash Zone was more plentiful at Tenth Avenue Arts (see provided before/after photos as an example). I think this is mainly due to the venues, as Tenth Avenue has stadium-style seating, allowing them 3 rows for the Splash Zone, where The Maverick only had one row with a plastic divider protecting the second row from the carnage.
Whether it's at The Maverick Theater (tickets available through May 18th) or Tenth Avenue Arts Center (shows starting Oct 18th through 27th), it was a bloody good time and I recommend upgrading to Splash Zone for ANY production you go to (unless you're squeamish or a square...or both).
JOOOOIIINNNN USSSSS.....!!!!
Review by: Joshua Johnson
