Christopher Bond interview
With the new Off-Broadway sensation Evil Dead: The Musical hitting the stage this month, director Christopher Bond took time out to speak to fearless Pit correspondent Cody Hamman about this song-and-dance reinvention of the cult 1983 Sam Raimi horror shocker. Sharing directoral duties with Bond is Tony Award winner Hinton Battle, while the show a book and lyrics by George Reinblatt, music by Frank Cipolla, Bond, Melissa Morris and Reinblatt and music supervision by Cipolla. Many thanks to Mr. Bond for his time and to Cody for his effort.
I don't think anyone would've guessed that The Evil
Dead would some day be a musical. What inspired you to
put this together?
I was performing in a production of the Rocky Horror
Show back in
2002 and I saw this cult audience show up at the door
every night and
wondered if there was an idea out there that would
draw a similar audience. I was
always a huge fan of the horror genre and it only took
one viewing of Evil
Dead 2 to be inspired to make it into a musical. All
the tell tale signs of a
musical were there. It all happens in this amazing
cabin that comes to
life, with a jive-talking hero and many other fun
characters, as well as a
chorus of zombies. Somebody needed to bust out singing
and we made it happen.
Bruce Campbell is a tough act to follow. Tell us about
your Ash, and how you found him.
The truth is, he walked in off the street. Lucky is an
understatement.
Ryan Ward has been Ash in this show since day 1 back
in Canada. He is a
hardcore fan of the movies and brilliant comedic and
physical
performer. He was made for the role and has all the
swagger of Bruce Campbell with
half the chin.
Who will be playing Ash's unlucky camping companions?
We knew that when we showed up in New York that we
would find some of
The hottest young talent out there. Ash's best bud
Scott is played by the
hilarious Brandon Wardell, sister Cheryl is portrayed
by the explosive
Jenna Coker (even at 5'0 tall), Ash's girlfriend Linda
is played by funny
Lady Jennifer Byrne and Scott's date Shelly is
hilarious and hot with Rene
Klapmeyer.
There's a "Splatter Zone" in your audience,
appropriate for the stage version of a movie that
"kept the blood running down the screen". How do you
handle gore effects in a live production?
Our show is meant to be an interactive experience. So
when you're in
The splatter zone, there is a really good chance that
you are getting a
Faceful of blood. We spray blood, ooze blood, splash
blood, throw blood and
Splatter blood. But don't worry, it washes out quite
easily.
Have any of the cast or crew members of The Evil Dead
films seen the musical?
Absolutely. Our show is very true to the movies and
they are
considered to be our top source for every detail of
the show. Character, set, story,
props, etc. All the actors have seen all three films,
probably many
times.
Fans all over want to see this production, is there
any chance of a taped performance being released on
DVD for the ones who can't make it to the shows?
Hmmm. No idea. But you never know when Evil Dead: The
Musical will be
coming to your town to bleed all over you. For now, if
you want to see
the greatest and funniest horror experience on the
planet, you're going to
have to come to the Big Apple.
Do you have any other movie-to-musical adaptation
ideas in the works?
Of course we do, but if I told you, I'd have to
.....well you know.
EVIL DEAD MUSICAL REVIEW
DISCUSS ON GUTS AND GORY
