Year: 2008
Time of year: September
Country: Canada
Places / cities: Toronto, Winnipeg
It's no secret that I like horror films. Not least the films Evil dead. It has gone so far that I used Ash Williams – the name of the main character in the films – as an alias on Facebook for a while. And Facebook turned out to be a quirky little thing.
Research
In the summer of 2008 I found a fan page on Facebook. It was the fan page for something as weird as Evil Dead – The Musical. Yes, you read that right! A musical based on – not just ONE, but TWO – horror films. The musical was staged in Toronto, Canada. I did my research; accommodation, times, flights, prices and everything else. I wanted to go to Toronto! But then there was a question about finances. A loan was badly needed.
The proposals were presented to the author. The mediation and the spanking started. There were two problems: accommodation and the father's point of view on the length of the stay. I had to find cheap accommodation or have a short stay in Toronto. But the father gave - perhaps a little against his will - a small clue. He remembered that I had a relative who lived in Toronto.
New research was initiated. Find letters and names from relatives in Canada. I knew the aforementioned relative, I had met him almost ten years earlier. Fattern rolled his eyes. He claimed that the mail would not arrive until the musical had been taken off the stage. But I was stubborn – as always. Names of relatives in Toronto and Winnipeg were found. Then the search started on Facebook to get in touch with them.
While all this research was going on, I received a message from Tenja Hagenberg on Facebook. She turned out to be a cute actress with a boyfriend from Norway. And not only that; She starred in Evil Dead – The musical! On the fan page, she had noticed that I was planning a trip to Toronto. She asked which place I had got. When she found out, she said that since I was traveling all the way from Norway I should get a better place - Tenja would fix that!
Bewildered by the message from Tenja, I got hold of the search for the relatives. There was a relative in Winnipeg named Ashley I got in touch with. I got to know her and her mother, Laura, last time I was in Canada. Laura's triplet, Rob, still lived in Toronto. A request for his email address was sent. Fattern continued to doubt. But after a short time there was a positive response. First from Winnipeg – and then from Toronto.
Tickets were bought - both for musicals and flights. Bookings for flights between Toronto and Winnipeg were also completed. The luggage was packed, and away with it! Here the boy was going on a trip!
Air trips
The trip first took me to Copenhagen where I was peeing myself. Then it was off to Washington, where I got to look at the luggage a bit before it was sent on to Toronto - I thought. Then I switched on my mobile and surfed Facebook a bit. That's when I got a fascinating surprise.
But now a small break in the plot's course of action. In places where you have whale shows - for example in SeaWorld - you have a "soakzone" or "wetzone". This is an area where you risk getting wet after the whale has shown its well-known jump. Evil Dead – The Musical has a corresponding zone where you risk being covered in stage blood! This is called a "splatter zone". I had booked a place just outside this zone.
But now back to the course of action: The surprise Hansa got on Facebook came from Tenja. She had arranged a better place. Not just in the splatter zone, but at the edge of the stage! I was all in 110,000!
Then it was off to Toronto. For the first time, I was a little afraid of flying. The plane was small - almost as small as the planes that land at Hovden airport. But it didn't matter - the stewardess was beautiful enough to forget the temporary fear of flying. Once in Toronto, Hansa sang some beautiful words to herself:
“Oh, Canada
Our home and native land"
Then it was time to find a great little suitcase. Searching turned into waiting, which turned into more waiting. In the meantime, I found out that he had left his wallet on the plane, so while I was waiting for my bag, I contacted a guard who would contact the flight attendant to find and bring the wallet to me. It took its time. When the wallet was delivered, the suitcase was not yet on the roll. It turned out they had forgotten it in Washington! A form was filled out and submitted. The suitcase was to be delivered to my place of residence in Toronto as soon as possible.
Then it was to find Robert, Laura's third son and my relative in Toronto. It was agreed that he would pick me up at the airport. Robert hadn't changed in the past ten years. I must have gotten a little hairier since last time. The rest of the evening was spent chatting and talking about politics and other strange things.
Sightseeing
Sightseeing was the first item on the list for the next day. After traipsing around Toronto, many cups of iced coffee and a trip up the CN tower (where I spotted Roberten's car and the Diesel Playhouse), we went to the Diesel Playhouse where Evil Dead - The Musical was to be shown. At the ticket office, I had a small attack of ironclad when I was about to ask for the tickets:
- Hi, I've ordered a ticket for tonight's show and I talked to... Damned... whats her second name...?
But then the face of the lady in the hatch began to light up with a big smile.
- Ah! You're Hans! Welcome! Tenja made a little place for you in the splatter zone. Remember to wear white.
I couldn't thank you enough and was very much looking forward to the show. Then it was off to the souvenir shop. The relative got a dog tag - I got the same myself. I also got hold of some white t-shirts for later use.
The sightseeing continued in the direction of an Art College. There were some fascinating buildings they had there. Eventually it turned out that we were walking along Elm Street, which I found very fascinating. In this street, they probably still have nightmares - especially during exam time.
Then it was time to meet up at Diesel again. We sat outside the theater for a little while as I wondered if any of the cars driving into the back of the theater contained celebrities.
Evil Dead – The Musical
Slight jogging into the main door. Up the stairs. Up one more flight of stairs. Into the dass. Switch to Evil Dead – The Musical t-shirt. Out the door again and buy a beer. The doors to the hall opened. A small Norwegian sneaked over to one of the doors. There it was; the hall where Evil Dead – The Musical – the most played show in Toronto – had had its main stage. My mind raced and I smiled widely.
The guard at the door noticed the Norwegian.
- You don't know where to sit?
I sputtered a bit more and said his two reference points; splatterzone and a small ticket.
- Go over to that lady. She'll show ya.
I jogged - with a beer in hand - down to the edge of the stage and was shown to my place before a small rebuke was uttered: the beer had to be in a plastic glass - not a glass glass. Plastic glasses were fetched and filled before I thanked and sat down with a grin on my face. Here I sat. Fökking's Evil Dead – The Musical. And with the beer on the edge of the stage. This was going to be tough stuff! Some famous lines - a famous monologue - started:
"The legend has it, that it was written by the dark ones:
Necronomicon ex mortus.
Roughly translated; Book of the dead.".
Then it all broke loose - literally. Jokes and pranks mixed with singing, bimbos, demons and other scary things. It was easy to find the laughing muscle, but it was difficult to calm it down. There was surprisingly little gore in the first act.
During the break, a new beer was bought - now in plastic - by the nice lady at the bar. I ran into Kath and John who I had noticed on the fan page on Facebook. We talked a bit back and forth before I got some fresh air on the terrace. Yes, it was a terrace at the Diesel Playhouse.
Something that surprised me was a man who seemed a little too old to be interested in a musical of this type. He was retired and even a little older. It turned out that he was here because of a younger relative who had worked on the production of the musical. Yes, then everything seemed natural. Eventually I pulled back in. Then I saw a pleasant fellow with a roll of paper in his hand. This guy was famous. I got a little nervous since the gentleman came walking in my direction. We greeted each other then it dawned on me; It was George Reinblatt himself! GEORGE REINBLARTT - the writer of Evil Dead - The Musical!
I did my best not to go off the hinges with joy. We had a little dialogue before the author rolled out the scroll. It was no less than a signed advertising poster for the musical - signed by the author himself! I was crawling off the hinges with joy!
After a little conversation, we said goodbye with a handshake (despite Mr. Reinblatt not wanting to get "bloody and all"). I then rushed back into the hall – craving more blood. And I got it! Blood splatters and reproductive organs and heads and other nasty things flew between walls. And one must not forget the evil Ms. Hørehand who did as she wanted.
I had the feeling that the actors splashed a little extra in my direction. And at one point the entire cast stood on the edge of the stage and sang in unison to the audience. During this session I had the opportunity to sing a duet-ish with Alison Smyth herself - the little rascal who really managed to make a splash in the musical. Well, it probably wasn't a duet in the proper sense... But at least we sang together - as far as I can sing.
As the applause rose after the performance, Mike "Nug" Nahrgang stepped forward - a teddy bear who played a real redneck. Due to the adrenaline rush, I don't remember verbatim what "Nug" said, but he said something like this:
- We have become famous, because here in the hall there is a fellow... Can you stand up? Where are you from?
I stood up and stammered out a few words.
- Europe. Norway, Europe.
Full cheers in the hall! When the musical's applause died down and everyone had stood up, many people talked to me. There was also a cute girl who wanted a picture. She got that. To my chagrin, I did not ask for a copy. If she ever reads this, I want a copy of the picture.
I met Kath and John at the bar. There was a small conversation there as well. I was a bit shy - which is rare for a Bergen. But I was looking forward to meeting the actors. They came out to the bar after every show. Eventually they came! Almost the whole herd. At the head of the pack was a bubbly girl named Tenja Hagenberg. She too had a roll of paper in her hand. I STILL got a poster from the musical - now signed by all the actors.
I got to talk a lot with the actors. During the conversation it was mentioned that I was going to visit my relatives in Winnipeg – or Winterpeg as a Canadian friend called it. The actors joked that it would surely be "downhill from here". Well, we'll see, I thought to myself.
While I was standing outside the Diesel playhouse trying to get in touch with Rob, I thought to myself that this sure looked wild. There I was - "bloody" and bloody - in the middle of an unknown city and I was a little stressed. I was glad the police didn't come. A drunken man walked by and noticed me. "So? You've been out on the town, too?" He smiled widely. I couldn't help but smile, wave and nod nervously. After a little while I was picked up by Rob. Later in the evening, two guys sat and chatted while listening to Tenja Hagenberg's CD. Incidentally, the luggage that had been left behind in Washington had not yet arrived.
Winterpeg is a nice place
The next day there wasn't much to pack as the luggage hadn't arrived yet. I got a ride to the airport and then flew to Winnipeg. When I arrived, my luggage from Washington also arrived... in Toronto. In Winnipeg I was picked up by my relatives, Ruth and Wally This was a joyful meeting. It was as if not a day had passed since we last met.
Once at Wally and Ruth's I told them - actually very nervously - about the musical. At the same time, I reminisced about the last time I was in the house. After a few hours, a red Chevy rolled into the parking lot. Wally announced in a shouting voice that now Laura was here. Guess who ran to the door like a dog!? Yep, that was me! Finally, I was going to meet Laura again, Wally and Ruth's daughter. I was going to stay with her for a few days. On the way to Laura's house, we were going to pick up Ashley. Ashley had been at a school party or something.
I vaguely remember the meeting with Mike, Laura's husband. A half-tired guy with a sly smile on his face appeared on the stairs and a conversation started almost like this: "Hello, Mike. Nice to see you again. Camaro is the car of my dreams." And then they were already on good terms. Mike was - and still is - a skilled fellow with cars, and when it came to car brands, it was Chevrolet that was closest to his heart - exactly the same taste as his wife. Mike and his colleagues were restoring a Chevrolet Chevelle for a show to be held two days later. The car was a golden woman in my opinion. "The expencive bitch" as the owner said with a sly smile on his face.
Yellow guy and committed boys
The next day I was going to experience baseball with Laura! This just had to be experienced live! Winnipeg's team had a strange yellow figure as their mascot – Goldie! Enter the local arena with us. A huge bucket of popcorn and a bottle of Dr. Pepper were bought. Laura was helpful in telling about the sport and the teams. Next to me sat a little boy - barely 10 years old and clearly fond of Goldie. Every time the boy saw the mascot, Goldie was shouted at at the top of his lungs. But the boy was a little skeptical of the guy next to him. This hairy blonde viking with sunglasses. Yes, it was a Norwegian who had never seen baseball before, Laura had to explain after a while. Yes, then, the boy thought to himself as the game progressed. The little boy became more and more homesick. He shouted more and more at the players. I wasn't sure if the boy was cheering for the team or scolding the players. Another question was who gave the best show; the players or the boy. The boy was engaged! The match was interesting and Laura explained to the best of her ability what she knew about the rules of the game. Occasionally they witnessed the occasional home run. Once the ball hit a spectator in the head. Unfortunately, it was not Winnipeg's big this day. But at least it was an experience to take with you.
Later that evening I got to participate in the restoration of the previously mentioned Chevelle. Maybe I learned something? It was a pleasant – almost magical – atmosphere for me when we drove to the garage where a golden Chevy stood.
The first moment I absorbed everything he could from impressions. Once in a while I asked a few questions about various technical dubbing things. And after a while I was allowed to do something big - at least by my standards: attaching a hose to the engine compartment! Difficult stuff! After the day's tasks were done, we went into the neighbor's garage to talk shit, plan a bit and have a few cups of booze and coke.
Days with variations
The last few days seemed to flow together. Not that the days were boring, but there was always something going on. I got to meet Don, Kathy and their sons. I had a fun off-road ride on the ATV with Andrew and Don. I also got to experience a car show with Laura where a certain gold colored Chevelle - the same Chevelle I had been eyeing - was going to be on display.
The journey home can be described as follows: Car – airport – plane – airport – car – Robert's place – some informal conversations – sleep – bring ALL luggage with you – car – airport – plane – airport – plane – airport – plane – Flesland airport.
By the way, I almost forgot: On the way home I had a stopover at Newark airport. I got to see the Statue of Liberty from the air. When I landed, I had the opportunity to go out one of the entrances to the airport and look straight at the Statue of Liberty. It was tempting to make the trip to the statue, but I didn't want to risk the journey home. As I stood admiring the view I had been observed by one of the airport guards. He had noticed the Norwegian flag on my bag. He made small talk before I went on. It was a bit special to leave here on 11 September.