On Stage

Evil Dead

A date with demons

Attend What: Evil Dead Where: Mount Baker Theatre, 104 N. Commercial St. Cost: $40-$75 Info: 734-6080 or http://www.mountbakertheatre.com

A certain coworker of mine can be counted on to join me for theatrical displays that are more than a little out of the ordinary.

For example, she’s been my plus-one to shows sporting everything from performing cats to vampire bunnies, as well as dramatic productions featuring full (male) nudity and, most recently, a spirited dance revue touting partial (male) nudity.

In past Octobers, we’ve also teamed up to explore many variations of local haunted houses and scream fairs in the name of journalistic research and, a few years back, knowingly entered the “splatter zone” of a Lynden-based performance of Evil Dead: The Musical.

When I recently mentioned to her that the Mount Baker Theatre had sent a press release drawing attention to a Sat., Oct. 7, one-night-only performance featuring Starvox Entertainment’s rendition of the aforementioned horror show, she reacted in typical fashion.

“We’re gonna go, right?” she queried, looking over my shoulder to read the missive. “We’re gonna sit in the splatter zone, right?”

I haven’t committed yet, but if gets her way we’ll be seated somewhere in the front two rows of the storied downtown Bellingham venue when the fake blood begins to fly.

For the uninitiated, the red stuff that will be flowing in Evil Dead: The Musical will most likely be made of corn syrup, and the production is described not as a dramatic night at the theater, but as a “macabre musical comedy sensation that combines the cult-classic horror trilogy into one bloody helluva good time.”

Much like the 1981 cinematic version helmed by Sam Raimi, the play focuses on five college students who go to an abandoned cabin in the woods for a weekend of fun. However, instead of the typical spring break shenanigans, they soon find themselves fighting for their lives after accidentally unleashing a demonic entity that can only be killed by dismembering it when it possesses a host. (Spoiler alert: the demon will possess many hosts.)

If you’re triggered by strobe lighting, the sound of chainsaws, severed body parts, “galvanic” rock music, smoke and blood, you’ll probably want to stay home—or at least sit far enough away from the action that the corn syrup won’t come into play.

If I attend with my coworker, our date with the demons will most likely take place near the stage, where we’ll be adding another iteration of Evil Dead: The Musical to our growing repertoire of odd nights out. I can’t wait.

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