Toronto, New York, Calgary... and now Vancouver - Evil Dead: The Musical
invades Vancouver October 20

VANCOUVER , Sept. 14 /CNW/ - Ground Zero Theatre (GZT) with Hit & Myth Productions (H&M) and KEYSTONE present the Vancouver premiere of Evil Dead: The Musical, directed by Kevin McKendrick, at The Vogue Theatre (918 Granville Street ), opening October 20, 2009 . Tickets are on-sale Wednesday, September 16 at 10am at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.ca or call 604.280.4444.

Following a near seven-week sold-out engagement in Calgary this past spring; GZT, H&M and KEYSTONE are bloody thrilled to present the Vancouver premiere of Evil Dead: The Musical, based on the popular Sam Raimi cult-classic movie series, Evil Dead, and Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn and Army of Darkness.

Evil Dead: The Musical tells the all too familiar story, all told with toe-tapping songs and energetic dancing: boy and four friends break into an abandoned cabin while on a weekend getaway; boy expects to get lucky; boy discovers an ancient flesh-bound book with the power to summon the demons of Candar; boy unleashes ancient evil spirit; boy turns friends into Candarian Demons; boy fights until dawn to survive.

"The three holy trilogies of movies are Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Evil Dead. And, for me, Evil Dead has always reigned supreme over the other two," says GZT's Ryan Luhning. "From the Ash action figure that sits on my office desk, to the actual chainsaw replica from Evil Dead 2 I own, I have been a proud Deadite since I was a boy. Presenting this show in Vancouver is a dream come true."

"When we saw Evil Dead: the Musical in Toronto , we were struck by how many of the films' elements were cleverly incorporated into the musical," says H&M's Joel Cochrane . "When we talked to the Toronto producers about acquiring the rights to the show, it turned out the set was also available. We decided since it already possessed a great aesthetic, why re-invent the wheel, so Vancouver audiences are going to see our production of Evil Dead: The Musical with the original Toronto and Off-Broadway set, and of course, we won't resist the temptation to incorporate at least a few of our own ideas, since we're working with Bleeding Art Industries, one of Canada's leading motion-picture and theatrical special effects companies."

"I have been aware of Evil Dead: The Musical for quite some time now," says Henry Kolenko of KEYSTONE. "In fact I flew out to see the New York Off-Broadway production in 2007, and it was good, but I was simply blown away by the Calgary production that I saw this past summer, especially the enhanced Splatter Zone - Evil Dead: The Musical is definitely one of the most fun theatre experiences any audience-member could imagine. I knew immediately, that The Vogue Theatre would be the perfect venue, and Vancouver audiences would love this campy up-beat slasher musical love story."

The cast, performing All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed by Candarian Demons, Look Who's Evil Now and Do the Necronomicon, features (in alphabetical order) Kevin Corey (Scotty), Lynley Hall (Linda), Bruce Horak (Jake), Daniel Mallet (Moose, et al), Tyler Rive (Ash), Cailin Stadnyk (Annie/Shelly), Jamie Tognazzini (Cheryl), and Guilly Urra (Ed).

Directed by Kevin McKendrick, with book and lyrics by George Reinblatt, music by Frank Cipolla , Christopher Bond , Melissa Morris and George Reinblatt, music direction by Brent Rock , choreography by Glenda Stirling , set design by David Gallo , lighting by Jeffrey Chappell , costume design by Deitra Kalyn, effects supervision by Bleeding Art Industries, stage management by Michael Gesy, and assistant stage management by Ruby Dawn Eustaquio.

GZT with H&M and KEYSTONE present the Vancouver premiere of Evil Dead: The Musical, at The Vogue Theatre, (918 Granville Street ), opening October 20, 2009 . Tickets for Evil Dead: The Musical vary in range depending on performance, seat location, and date of purchase and start at $25 plus GST, S/C and Fees. Tickets are on-sale Wednesday, September 16 at 10am at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.ca or via phone at 604.280.4444.

AS OF SEPTEMBER 16 CHECK-OUT www.vancouver.evildeadthemusical.com

* THE SPLATTER ZONE is located in the first five rows of The Vogue Theatre; ask for The Splatter Zone when booking tickets.

For further information: Marnie Wilson, The Artsbiz Public Relations, P [phone], E [email protected]