Watched the 2006 off Broadway final performance and the ending of the 2003 VHS tape for comparison. For a musical that largely, especially in the 2006 version, excises the plot of Army of Darkness, it takes its cue in tone aonost entirely from it. And as someone who considers it pretty solidly the least good of the full length Evil Deads, I don’t think I’m the target audience here. There’s a lot of mugging and cheap laughs, and I’m not even an Evil Dead ultra fan, but so much of those laughs rely on mischaracterizing the original films to find things to make fun of, from Shelly become a dumb blonde to acting as if the movie shoehorned a romance between Ash and Annie when it purposely pulled back, Annie you know seeing literal demons and realizing things aren’t what they seem and thus needing to work with Ash as somehow being a plot contrivance, to the most egregious, framing Ash coming back after seeing the necklace as some magical property of it and so why didn’t it bring back Linda??? instead of. You know. A reminder of love that brings him back. I know, I know. Comedy. But the jokes in return just aren’t that funny. That said, I respect the amateur passion that harkens back to the original, the tunes are catchy, the set, choreography, and practical effects are all well crafted and charming, and Ryan Ward lives up to Campbell enough to make the obnoxious ‘clap now’ callbacks and recitals a bit less painful. I can’t be too harsh on an amateur musical production by fans, but it only works if you’re one of those fans who think Evil Dead is at its best with one liners and broad comedy. If you prefer 1 and 2, this musical carries very little of what actually makes those good, and substitutes little in return. The most interesting part is how much it highlights how jarring Ash’s shift in character was in AOD by having that shift happen suddenly by the lift of the curtain in act 2, but this is the only thing it won’t actually comment on.