Mar
14
“Re-Animator: The Musical” Review
Filed Under Theatre
Forget “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.” The real hot ticket isn’t on Broadway, but Hollywood Blvd. at the Steve Allen Theater, where Stuart Gordon’s “Re-Animator: The Musical” is running through the end of March.
I’m very much a fan of the 1985 HP Lovecraft-inspired film, also directed by Gordon, and starring the inimitable Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West. In the movie, West has discovered the key to bringing the dead back to life — a green-glowing serum he calls his “reagent.” Trouble is, the test subjects West uses aren’t fresh enough, so they come back a little screwy. The film’s a hilarious splatterfest and easily one of the best gore flicks of the 1980s.
The musical version is as faithful an adaptation of the film as a fan could hope for. Beat-for-beat, it follows the plot of the movie. Graham Skipper’s Herbert West is a fitting tribute to Combs’ take on the character, and he sings my favorite of the musical’s songs, “I’ll Create Life.” Chris L. McKenna plays West’s roommate, Dan Cain, who’s drawn into West’s macabre experiments. Dan’s disapproving girlfriend, Megan, is played by the lovely Rachel Avery. Jesse Merlin is West’s nemesis, an equally mad scientist and plagiarist, Dr. Hill. George Wendt brings his comedic chops to the role of Megan’s father, Dean Halsey. Everyone’s a gamer, and everyone’s clearly having great fun with the material.
What I should also mention is how blood-drenched the stage version of the play is. The first two rows of the auditorium were designated the “soak zone.” The seats were wrapped in plastic and ponchos were handed out to anyone who wanted one. Apart from a gag at the very top of the show where a doctor’s head explodes, the first act is fairly dry. But having seen the film, I knew all the major gore effects were going to come after the intermission. I wasn’t wrong. The second act goes heavy on the red stuff. I was seated off to the side, so I didn’t get the worst of it. But Graham Skipper makes sure during his final song that the people in the soak zone got what they paid for as he becomes tangled in someone’s entrails.
“Re-Animator: The Musical” is the best show I’ve seen in a long time. I hope it’s held over for additional performances and goes on the road. This is a real treat for fans of the film. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
-Brad Lohan
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