THIS SOW BELONGS TO EVERYBODY

There’s the actor’s nightmare, there’s nightmare productions, and then there’s Excorcistic: The Rock Musical which is nightmarishly twisted and sick. But don’t worry, it’s a good thing here.

The horror musical genre is alive and well, from classics like Sweeney Todd to rock musical adaptations of horror films like Evil Dead — the former a mainstay of musical theater, the latter a cult hit adaptation of a cult horror film that came with its own splatter zone for Kandarian Demon guts. At Asylum NYC, Writer-composer-lyricist Michael Shaw Fisher’s self-aware and unrelentingly entertaining two-act extravaganza carries the DNA of other cognizant adaptations one might find in NYC’s downtown theater scene (remember Re-Animator: The Musical and Silence! The Musical?

 The Cast

Admittedly, it gets off to an unfocused start as actors come onstage while the fluorescent house lights are still on (and stay on for at least the first five to eight minutes). Looking like an undergraduate scene study showcase, all adorned in black, the cast takes the stage to set up for a staged reading of an “unlicensed and unauthorized” stage adaption of William Friedkin’s 1973 horror film The Exorcist.

 Emma Hunton

A show about making a show, characters addressing the audience directly, and a character playing a stage manager are all hallmarks of the kind of Off-Off-Broadway experience parodied on sitcoms. But when the ensemble kicks into gear for the opening number, the power of Christ does indeed compel.

Emma Hunton and Cast

Emma Hunton and Jesse Merlin

It’s pretty clear we’re not just watching a straightforward adaptation of the classic movie as the show takes multiple detours to explore the (often comical) relationships of the in-show cast, as well as highlight and acknowledge where the film’s story hasn’t aged well. Scenes from the source material are re-imagined or exaggerated as the cast tells and self-parodies the story.

Ethan Crystal and Steven Cutts

Ethan Crystal, Emma Hunton and Michael Shaw Fisher

Things take a turn when the actress playing the actress playing Megan O’Neil (an astounding Emma Hunton) goes off-script (well… off the show’s pretend script) and taunts her cast members on their deepest insecurities and fears in a raspy voice, not unlike the film’s demonically-possessed 12-year-old Regan McNeil. The show only ramps up the absurdities from there. Some shows are cursed, could this one be as well? There is musing on the unusually high number of injuries and deaths that occurred during the filming of The Exorcist — what if it’s happening here? The Satanic play-within-a-Satanic play gives the work a complexity that is decidedly beguiling, and the performers assay both their cinematic characters and their “real life” roles with commitment and vigor.

Ethan Crystal with Emma Hunton, Steven Cutts, and Leigh Wulff

Michael Shaw Fisher and Ethan Crystal

“Am I back at kink camp?” a delighted audience member sitting behind me asks aloud after the notorious crucifix scene from the film is played as a smoky cabaret number. Directors Chadd McMillan and Alli Miller-Fisher’s production evokes a genially campy tone that fits the absurd material to a T – and Fisher’s 19 songs are catchy and funny. One of the show’s wackiest moments is Megan’s hilarious turn singing “Howdy Captain Howdy, how ya doin’?” to her Ouijia Board. Excorcistic makes you feel like you’re watching an after-dark live comedy sketch at times, with audience interaction and plenty of adult humor.

 Garrett Clayton and Cast

There’s a lot to love in Excorcistic, from Hunton’s pipes, to the raunchy over-the-top musical numbers, to the jokes only fans of the original movie and the horror genre will catch. When you’ve got Hunton belting, drag performers slaying, and heads rotating, there’s something for everyone, whether you’ve seen the flick or not. With rotating special guests, no two performances are alike.

So grab a demon-themed drink, grab some friends or an an old altar boy, and let the power of parody compel you.

photos by David Haverty

Excorcistic: The Rock Musical
Asylum NYC, 307 W 26th St
Mon-Sat at 7
runs into October, 2025
for tickets ($65-$125), visit Exorcistic or Asylum

Special guest stars set to pop in include: Lance Bass, Jaime Cepero, Nicci Claspell, Brian Logan Dales, Deanna Giulietti, Frankie Grande, Lena Hall, Ali Kresch, Charlene Incarnate, Lindsay Heather Pearce, Steven Taylor, Sophia Urista, Kirsten Vangsness, Nina West, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Evan Rachel Wood and more.