‘Evil Dead: The Musical’ Opens at PMT; ‘Becoming Daddy AF’ Lands at Kelly Strayhorn (Fri., 9/26/25)

EVIL DEAD: THE MUSICAL by George Reinblatt, with Christopher Bond, Frank Cipolla, and Melissa Morris contributing in music and Bond in lyrics. Pittsburgh Musical Theater. Through October 25. 

Things could get a little choppy in PMT’s ‘Evil Dead The Musical.’ Brett Goodnack reprises his role as Ash for the sixth time. (Photo by Matt Polk)

1) So far, well over 500 productions of Evil Dead: The Musical have been staged worldwide. Think of what this has required in human terms. Hundreds of talented actors, fluent at using their hands gracefully on stage, had to learn how to play a character whose right hand is replaced by a chainsaw. Yet the role is a coveted one, for Ashley “Ash” Williams is not your average bionic hero. In the Evil Dead films on which the musical is based, he duels with Deadites in settings from the present-day U.S. to medieval Europe. Ash is a complexly flawed hero who bumbles through everyday life, but excels in matters such as fighting the Kandarian Demon. The British cinema magazine Empire ranked him the greatest horror movie character of all time. Pittsburgh Musical Theater—which has presented a few of those 500+ productions—resurrects Evil Dead: The Musical by popular demand. Brett Goodnack stars again as Ash. To add spooky-night atmosphere, the show is in PMT’s roofed outdoor venue. Exuberant audience response is welcome but leave your chainsaws, and children, at home. Preferably not in the same room. 8:30 p.m. West End Canopy, 327 S. Main St., West End. (M.V.)

Look, up in the sky! Neither a bird nor a plane nor Peter Pan, this is how David Roussève performs ‘Becoming Daddy AF.’ Photo: Ryan Harper

2) For Pittsburghers who want to see performing arts that are really out there, one place to go is the Kelly Strayhorn Theater out in East Liberty. This weekend KST hosts the world premiere of a new solo piece by a renowned dance-theater artist: David Roussève’s Becoming Daddy AF. Roussève does more than dance up a storm. Through his production company—which he calls REALITY—he acts out his stories; he talks them; he uses multimedia to bring the stories home. And the promo material for Becoming Daddy AF promises quite an autobiographical story: a “portrait of a queer African American man aware of his aging,” which “weaves together kinetic movement and intimate, non-linear queer storytelling” to produce a “powerful meditation on life’s purpose.” If you’re ready for that, get tickets for Becoming Daddy AF while they last. Also, in conjunction with the show, Kelly Strayhorn presents the opening of a special photo-and-history exhibit: Calendar Girls in the House of Tilden. Curated by Dr. Harrison Apple of the Pittsburgh Queer History Project, it’s a look-back at the 1970s when the now-gone House of Tilden was a memorable after-hours queer disco and performance venue. The exhibit opens at 5:30 p.m. and Becoming Daddy AF plays at 7:30 p.m. tonight and Saturday. 5941 Penn Ave., East Liberty. (M.V.) 

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