I have to say, I expected this show to be funny but I didn’t expect it to have as many laughs as it did.  Some of the laughs where OMG that’s funny, some of the laughs where OMG I can’t believe they just did that.  Definitely not a show for the whole family!  So ya, I loved it.

I was also pretty impressed that they did all of the necessary scenes – the bad, bad, evil trees scene (they lowered everyone’s karma in the room by making us laugh so much at this), the chainsaw scene, all the good stuff.

My favorite part?  The fact that they embraced campy in every way possible.  If you are in Tampa and free this Saturday or Sunday night you should absolutely go see it – You can get your tickets on Straz Center’s website.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get any pictures, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.  Evil Dead the Musical is playing in more places than Tampa (I know, what? why?) – you can follow Evil Dead The Tour  on Twitter to see if they are coming to your town.  If you go come back and tell me what you thought!

I received two tickets to Evil Dead the Musical in exchange for writing a review. As always, my opinions are all mine.

Ya.  That’s really a thing.  From Straz Center’s site:

“College kids in an abandoned cabin in the woods for the weekend. What could go wrong? Well, first they accidentally unleash an evil force that turns them into demons. The rest is Evil Dead the Musical, a splatter-fest of camp, gore and one-liners so bad they’ll kill you before the Candarian demons do. This sing-along cult hit is a bloody good time, and for die hard fans, there are always seats available in the Splatter Zone if you get your tickets early. You’ll laugh your guts out.”

What can go wrong indeed?

Who doesn’t want to laugh their guts out? No one I know! Well. No one that I know that I like anyways, and who else counts?

Exactly.

I don’t think I can tell it better than this guy:

Want to come out and get your Evil Dead on?

It’s playing Thurs. at 8 p.m. and Fri. & Sat. at 7:30 p.m. You can pick up tickets here.

Are you a fan of zombies in general or Evil Dead in particular? Do you agree that adding ‘the musical’ to just about anything is kind of awesome?

Last Thursday we decided to go to the Straz Center and see Return to the Forbidden Planet. Cheesy Sci-fi?  I’m so in!  It was my first time going to the Straz Center and I was really impressed by the area.  There were lots of places to eat nearby and a library right across the way which you could get to through a glass walkway that made me think of Stephen King’s IT.  Wasn’t there a glass walkway to the library in that book?  But this one is up a floor or two.

Anyways, we got there early and were walking through said walkway when I noticed something odd.

Um, are those Storm Troopers?  Yes, yes they are.  We had time before the show started so we decided to go check it out.  Actually, I would have totally been late to go check Storm Troopers out.  So off we go and guess what?  They were there for Forbidden Planet, and so was Darth Vader! Seriously cool. I mean, you know, to people like me.

Turns out pretty much everyone was there! I even got a picture with Spider-Man to send to my nephews, making me the coolest aunt ever. No, this isn’t it.

After stopping at the bar for a rum and coke (not something you can do everywhere in Florida!) we went in to see the show.

It’s a lot of the Tempest, a lot of Forbidden Planet, a lot of 50’s rock, and a lot of fun!  I was pretty amazed at how much fun we had, they had the entire audience laughing most of the night.  And 4 days later I’m still singing songs from the show.  (Gloria, Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, Young Girl… )

Did I mention the space monsters?

Even in space the Monster Mash is all that.

If you are in the Tampa area and you are a fan of Shakespeare / sci fi / music / theater or fun  you should really go check them out. You can see the times and prices and get your tickets here. The show is Thursday through Sunday until July 6th.

I was given two tickets to see The Forbidden Planet in exchange for an honest review.

So, how about you?  Have you been to the Straz Center yet?  Have you seen Return to the Forbidden Planet anywhere else?  And the all important question, do you know the walkway in IT that I’m talking about?

OK, so I said I was a huge fan of books.  What I forgot to mention is I’m a huge fan of science fiction and horror books, and then other stuff.  In my opinion unless the bad guy in a horror story is a human it’s kind of science fiction too.

So my second recommended read is the complete opposite of the first, sorry if you were looking for consistency here of all places. I was handed this book by my sister, whose husband had been reading it.  I asked why there was a bookmark after about the first chapter and she said he didn’t finish it because it was kind of weird. If talked to my brother-in-law for about 90 seconds you would be wondering how that could happen too.

John Dies at the End

Remember Pink Floyd’s the Wall? Bits of it anyways? This book has the same what did he just say – what did I just see? feel to it.  But in this case the fate of the world is in question.

The book begins with such a good riddle that I picked up my phone and started to call my boyfriend to tell him about it then realized it was about midnight so the call might not be appreciated.

The story is filled with just some of the knowledge that you gain after partaking in a fun new drug called soy sauce.  It’s all you need to see the other side.  What’s on the other side you ask?  Just pretty girls bursting into snakes, screechy (not normal screechy) insects, and of course the infamous meat monster.

But that’s not all! You also get the chance to run from the cops (who may be the good guys, hard to tell sometimes) walk into certain death more than once, and if you’re lucky live to fight another day.

John Dies at the End (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One thing about this that will make you either love or hate the story – it’s high energy don’t stop for a minute something is always going on; it’s you really have to pay attention or you’ll miss something, and it’s you really can’t take this seriously at all, all at the same time. If you like that AND you like insanity (kind of the same thing, I know) then go read this book now. If you don’t then, um, you could go either way.

Basically there were a LOT of parts in the story that literally made me laugh out loud, and plenty that were truly creepy. The two coexist pretty comfortably in this book.

If you decide to read this and then decide

you haven’t had enough, good news!  The movie is on Netflix and the website which spawned this tale is right here. You’re welcome.

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