Stuart Gordon’s ‘80s horror classic REANIMATOR has been revived from the dead as a fast-moving, high-energy horror-comedy musical at the Steve Allen Theater in Hollywood (http://www.reanimatorthemusical.com/) and all you moldering corpses should take a shot of Herbert West’s glowing green reagent and run, run, run to go see it.

To a REANIMATOR purist, there’s a little sacrilege here and there: There are classic lines from the movie that aren’t recreated live onstage (Dan needn’t worry which head he thinks with, for one thing), but the spirit is absolutely there from start to finish. From the somewhat ‘80s minimalist set design (by Laura Fine Hawkes) to the costumes (by Joe Kucharski), the look is right. And of course, the script is adapted from the original with a deft hand by Dennis Paoli (of NEVERMORE fame), William J. Norris and Gordon himself.

The cast is zeroed in, too. They strike exactly the right balance between homage to the original players and adding their own unique twists to the roles. Some, like Jesse Merlin (Doctor Hill) and Rachel Avery (Megan Halsey), take a slightly broader approach that really adds zest to their performances. Marlon Grace is a standout as the ubiquitous ‘80s movie security guard, delightfully milking his every appearance for laughs. Cynthia Carle (Doctor Harrod) is marvelously droll and deadpan throughout, and the supporting cast/chorus — Brian Gillespie, Mark Beltzman, Liesel Hanson — are fun. TV veteran George Wendt (Dean Halsey) demonstrates expert timing and grand presence in a role that’s understated but central to the entire show. Fans of the film may wonder how important Dean Halsey could be to the show, but we’ll just say that in the second act Wendt manages to get serious belly laughs without saying a word.

But what about Chris L. McKenna (Dan Cain) and Graham Skipper (Herbert West)? Well, if you’re a fan of REANIMATOR, prepare to think of these guys as “the OTHER great Herbert West and Dan Cain.” They play it just straight enough (for a musical comedy) to give you some good notes of heartfelt romance and regret (from McKenna) and a nice aura of creepy menace (from Skipper). McKenna actually is a better Dan in a lot of ways than the film version, because he really makes it clear that Dan is just this side of being a mad scientist himself — and Skipper’s West (who has notes of Elijah Wood as well as Jeffrey Combs, along with Skipper’s own quirky charisma) delivers outrageous lines with such utter seriousness that he becomes one of the funniest psychopaths you’ve ever seen. His grand exit in the show’s finale is absolutely uproarious, giving an ideal payoff to his performance and the entire production.

She’s Dead, Dan,” is the show’s highlight song, but its Gilbert and Sullivan-tinged score by Marc Nutter (arranged by Peter Adams) is a treat overall. It’s very spare and simple, just a cast of singers and a keyboard accompanist, but it’s catchy and richly funny.

The black ponchos distributed to the folks in the first three rows are a wise idea — but if you’re really squeamish about being hit with ooze from the show’s splash zone, you might want to be a bit further back than the fourth row, too. In the show’s hilarious blood-drenched finale, the effects get a bit more range than you might expect, and we’ll just say that they’re very… generous.

Speaking of the FX (achieved with a helpful hand from movie pro John Buechler), they’re demented fun, and point up the show’s impressive pedigree: Reading the program, you’ll see a lot of connections to other cool projects, and this degree of imagination and involvement shows.

If you’ve ever wondered what the cheerleading squad at Miskatonic University would be like, wonder no more: Hie thee hence to see REANIMATOR: THE MUSICAL for the answer to this, and many other musical questions…