My overall impression
Funny as Hell! And silly as shite. And it’s all worth hustling down to Open Fist Theatre to see, because Exoricistic: The Rock Musical Parody Experiment more than lives up to its name. I loved it because while they writer Michael Shaw Fisher and director Pat Towne and the entire company is respectful of the source material (the book and film), they have such fun going to town blowing the whole thing up — I couldn’t help but laugh and smile.
Vulgar? Yes, deeply so, at times. But, good news, it ain’t gratuitously so. Or if it is, they earn it. A crazy conceit of a show within a show, Orgasmo Productions have a great thing going. Not the least of which is some great songs performed by a crack combo. They pull off the rock, they pull off the swing, they’re versatile, supporting and never overpowering. And the cast? Totally pulls it off, too. The gal playing Reagan/Megan knocks it out of the park — seemingly out of nowhere. Her belt is killer and everyone here can sing very well. And that is usually a point of contention when I see stuff: Can they sing? Yes, they can. They take the material and play, play, play. Hats off to them as well as director Towne, whose theatrical and comic instincts are a perfect match to Shaw’s script and score.
I could go on, but really, let’s just leave it that I’m thrilled to have gone. I’ve like Michael’s shows in the Fringe in the past, and this one is definitely the topper.
