It was eerie. It was scary. But most of all, it was downright ridiculous. Exorcist! The Musical, that is. But wait a minute... you might not remember this one. No, it wasn't a Broadway flop or some ill-conceived amateur product of a musical workshop. As a matter of fact, Exorcist! The Musical was conceived and performed this past Friday evening at the intimate Works Theater in Davis Square by the Portal Theater Company.
"It's Halloween, who knows what will happen?" sang ensemble member Cherly Singleton in the opening number, with a ghoulish look on her face. Her fellow cast members soon joined her on stage, setting the scene for a rather interesting but entertaining evening.
The concept of spontaneous musical theater seems a bit bizarre in our world of pre-packaged, slick musicals such as Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon. But if we stand aside for a moment and look at the skeleton of any musical, we will soon find many structural similarities among them all. Nancy Howland Walker, former artistic director of ImprovBoston, originally developed the show's format in Chicago. The ensemble members of Musical! The Musical, who hails from a range of the top improvisational troupes in town, realized that the age-old art form of musical theater was the perfect subject for improv comedy. Once they got the basic structure of the musical down, performing a fully improvised, 90-minute, two-act musical became as easy as pie.
Before the show starts, the cast members ask the audience for suggestions as to what the topic of their musical should be for the evening. Audience members shouted out Survivor! The Musical, Election 2000! The Musical, Indiana Jones! The Musical, The Blair Witch Project! The Musical, The Hobbit! The Musical, and Exorcist! The Musical. The cast had the audience vote on what they wanted the ensemble to perform. It was a close tie between Indiana Jones! The Musical, and Exorcist! The Musical, but the latter won in the end.
Many of the people in the audience didn't even know the story of the film Exorcist, but the cast explained to the audience what they knew of the story, so they wouldn't be confused. Some of the cast said they hadn't even watched the film before. Audience members threw in some of their random knowledge about the film. "Her head turns 180 degrees," said the British man behind me, "And green snot comes out of her nose." Important details.
The musical director chooses an audience member to play three notes on the keyboard that would set up the key for the overture, which, of course, he improvises on the spot. The chosen woman plucked out a major chord, which was a bit unfortunate, considering that the rather dark Exorcist story deserves a more eerie minor chord. He made do, however, and the creepy overture brilliantly set the scene for the musical.
Christine Cannavo played the role of the possessed little girl, Karra. Her performance was the highlight of the entire evening. She had perfect comic timing and played off all of her fellow cast members with equal skill.
Don Schuerman and TC Cheever played the role of the older priest and younger priest, respectively. They worked well together and were hysterical in songs such as "Exorcism is Not a Game," and "Prepare the Sacrament." Their low and commanding bass voices were perfect for their priestly parts.
Schuerman was particularly engaging as the older priest because he was able to show off a great deal of film-specific knowledge. During the sacrament scene, he managed to recite Latin on the spot. Cheever, not as well-versed in Latin, decided to make up his own, unique version of Latin otherwise affectionately known as babble.
The musical tended to drag a bit towards the end, especially during the introspective moments. Elaine Theodore, who played the role of Karra's mother, did a good job with her part. Unfortunately, we had to listen to her belt out a few too many times her feelings of frustration and confusion about her daughter's strange condition during songs such as "I Have to Have Faith," among others.
Overall, though, the musical was a great deal of fun. One of the highlights was in the second act, when Satan, played by Larry Coen, commanded the priests in the song "All You Have to Do is Win." The ensemble members showed off their dancing skills in this song with a sultry and ridiculous tango.
The exorcism scene was priceless. Don't even ask how they managed to have one of the priest's heads rolls off. Yes, it was silly. But, how could you not love a show whose closing number is a rousing rendition of "Possession is Good for the Soul."
The cast members of Musical! The Musical really knew how to work together and play off each other. They were not afraid to take risks, no matter how silly they might seem to the audience. Some of the tunes they made up on the spot were actually quite good... a pretty impressive feat. You might even find yourself humming some of the songs on the way out.
Musical! The Musical is a must see if you are a musical theater aficionado. You will, guaranteed, laugh yourself silly.
Musical! The Musical will be playing at the Works Theatre (255 Elm Street) in Davis Square on Fridays & Saturdays at 8 p.m. through Oct. 28. Tickets are $12 with a student ID. Call (617) 776-8383 for more information.