October is one of the most wonderful times of the year in my opinion. We get to bust out our boots and sweaters and spend weekends at haunted houses and cider mills. Forget Christmas carols; Halloween can make us want to sing too. While there aren’t exactly Halloween carols or radio stations that exclusively play such music for several weeks before the holiday, there are a few musicals for those who love this time of year so much they just want to sing.
It seems like common sense that “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” has become a staple element of the Halloween season, even though it has virtually nothing to do with Halloween. But sadly, even though Eastern Michigan University put on a production of “Rocky Horror” in 2011, there are still some people who haven’t discovered the pure ridiculousness of the musical.
The campy story of unfortunate squares, Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick) and Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon), is full of singing, dancing, sex and violence.
When their car breaks down, Majors and Weiss are forced to seek shelter in an eerie castle that’s currently housing extraterrestrials, from the planet Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania, who are visiting for the annual Transylvanian Convention.
The leader of these Transylvanians, Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), teaches the pure and virtuous Brad and Janet how to give themselves over to “absolute pleasure.”
Originally adapted from a stage show in 1975, “Rocky Horror” was a complete box office flop. It took a while, and plenty of midnight showings in theaters for the movie to reach cult status, but it has since set a record for longest running film.
Especially around Halloween, “Rocky Horror” is shown at artsy theaters around the country at midnight showings, sometimes even complete with a shadow cast.
Viewers dress in costumes, sing along to the show, shout and throw props at the screen and “de-virginize” people who haven’t seen the movie in theaters before. This is all in good nature, and most people who see a “Rocky Horror” screening go back again and again.
This Halloween, Ann Arbor’s State Theater, located at 223 S. State St., will have “Rocky Horror” midnight showings Friday, Oct. 26 and Saturday, Oct. 27, with appearances from Ann Arbor’s Tickled Fancy Burlesque Co.
“Evil Dead: The Musical,” was adapted from the low-budget, cult classic Sam Raimi franchise, “The Evil Dead,” consisting of “The Evil Dead,” “Evil Dead 2” and “Army of Darkness.” “Evil Dead: The Musical” was first performed in 2003 in Ontario, Canada.
When hero, Ash (played by Bruce Campbell in the film series) and his four Michigan State friends venture to the hills of Tennessee to stay in a cabin for the weekend, they stumble upon a book called “Naturan Demanto.”
This is a Sumerian version of the “Book of the Dead,” and upon listening to a recorder along with the book, demons are unleashed to wreak havoc on the campers.
Complete with demons, chainsaws and choreographed musical numbers to songs like “Do The Necronomicon,” “Evil Dead: The Musical” is a bloody riot.
While this would make a perfect romantic night out for you and your significant other, if you plan to sit in the first three rows, don’t wear your nice date clothes. These rows are considered the splatter zone, and you will get covered in blood.
You might want to take precaution if you’re in the fourth and fifth rows too.
“Evil Dead: The Musical” is playing at Detroit’s City Theatre and is currently running every Thursday, Friday and Saturday through Oct. 27.