NY Review: 'Re-Animator: The Musical'

The phrase "spilling your guts" takes on a whole new meaning in "Re-Animator: The Musical," the weird, gross, and somewhat fun new stage version of the 1985 cult horror film presented as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival. As corpses are disemboweled with glee, fake blood spurts over the first several rows of the audience, designated as the "splash zone," where theatergoers have been equipped with plastic ponchos. Like "Little Shop of Horrors," this show, which won several awards during its Los Angeles run, hopes to cash in on the hunger for a good scare and nostalgia for grade-Z cinema.

The plot is typical creepy-flick kitsch. Idealistic medical student Dan Cain enters into an unholy alliance with his brilliant but nutso roommate Herbert West, who has invented a serum that can revivify recently expired cadavers. When Dan's girlfriend Megan Halsey, the daughter of the dean of Dan and Herbert's medical school, discovers their bizarre experiments, and the jealous Dr. Hill, the school's chief anatomy instructor, attempts to steal Herbert's formula, all hell literally breaks—or, more accurately, squishes—loose.

This is not as brilliantly funny as "Little Shop" or even an episode of "Mystery Science Theatre 3000," the hilarious TV series that celebrated bargain-basement cinema, but there are enough giggle-inducing bits in the book by Dennis Paoli, Stuart Gordon, and William J. Norris to sustain you for a fast 90 minutes. Snappy direction by Gordon, who also helmed the original film, helps considerably.

There are numerous pop-culture references, from the "Puttin' on the Ritz" number in "Young Frankenstein" to Michael Peters' choreography for the Michael Jackson video "Thriller." The same goes for Mark Nutter's derivative score, which parodies several standards and styles, such as Frank Sinatra's "My Way" (sung by Herbert as he's being strangled by living entrails) and Wagnerian opera (a Sturm-und-Drang opening expositional number). You can even hear traces of "My Friends" from "Sweeney Todd" in Herbert's maniacal musical musings.

The biggest name in the cast is George Wendt, best known as the jovial barfly Norm on the sitcom "Cheers." He spends much of the evening delivering well-timed deadpan reactions in the supporting role of the dean. But Wendt gets bigger yuks as a lobotomized zombie and a rotund female doctor. Chris L. McKenna and Rachel Avery make an attractive leading couple, both physically and vocally, as Dan and Megan. They balance the innocence and pluck required of a hero and heroine with a dry sense of irony. Graham Skipper is delightfully driven as the wild-eyed Herbert. Jesse Merlin exhibits a rich baritone and a gleeful relish in villainy as the diabolical Dr. Hill. The remaining six cast members play multiple roles with comic dexterity, with Cynthia Carle standing out as a sarcastic physician empathically declaring the death of a patient.

Presented by Red Hen Productions, the Schramm Group, and Gramily Entertainment as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival at the PTC Performance Space, 555 W. 42nd St., NYC. July 18–22. Remaining performances: Thu., July 19, 8 p.m.; Sat., July 21, 5:30 and 9 p.m.; Sun., July 22, 9 p.m. (212) 352-3101, (866) 811-4111, or www.nymf.org. Casting consultants: Andy Crocker and Mark Simon.