review: dead before dawn, an evil dead water ballet

Dead Before Dawn @ The Midtown Hotel
​Review by Dorian Hatchett

I would like to note that the competing scents of chlorine and fake blood makes for a hell of a mood.  Add in a headless aerialist, a couple of boomsticks, human pony players, some extremely well choreographed water ballet demons, and an unlabeled splash zone, and you’ve got a night you’re not going to forget for a while. Or at least until some deadites eat your brains.  

New Orleans is a tiny city with a vast appreciation of the weird. We love a pop culture mashup or a nerdy in-joke, and we’re just as likely to attend a science fiction burlesque show as the symphony. Aquamob describes itself as “New Orleans Premiere Community Dystopian Horror Water Ballet Troupe” and while that tagline might seem incredibly specific, they keep serving brilliant, hilarious shows that never fail to delight. 

Their previous production Carrie: Blood in the Water earned them a nod at the Ambush Magazine’s Gay Appreciation awards Critics Choice Nomination. Drowned Before Dawn: An Evil Dead Water Ballet brings you Evil Dead in a way you've never seen before.

Featuring a large cast with even bigger stage presence, Ash Williams (William Hudson) was the perfect mix of bloodthirsty bravado and abject terror. Annie Knowby (Lizzy Collins) is a badass who is not putting up with Ash’s machismo in any way. The two of them must battle a legion of demons to save the world. 

A live band (Bomb Pulse) was an excellent counterpoint to the sound system chainsaw effects.  The Midtown Hotel (3900 Tulane Avenue) probably pays a fortune to whoever maintains its pool filters, but it’s worth every penny. In a word: groovy.  I’ll definitely be in the audience at the next one, and you should be, too.

Dead Before Dawn, An Evil Dead Water Ballet runs at the Midtown Hotel through October 12th. Click here for tickets and further information