Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Above par musical parodies at Asylum NYC: The unhinged EXORCISTIC and the relentlessly probing SLAM FRANK

• By drediman
• October 17, 2025
• No Comments

This week, I ventured twice down to the comedy venue Asylum NYC to catch a pair of above par musical parodies, a sub-genre that has become somewhat subordinated to other more “legitimate” types of theater. Read on for my assessment on these surprisingly envelope-pushing, definitely unauthorized concoctions.

EXORCISTIC: THE ROCK MUSICAL
Asylum NYC
Through November 1

First up is Exorcistic: The Rock Musical (RECOMMENDED), Michael Shaw Fisher’s musical spoof on the classic 1973 horror flick The Exorcist. Clearly devoted to both the underlying movie and musical comedy, Fisher has cleverly structured the show as a show-within-a-show to serve both purposes, beginning as a rehearsal for a parody of The Exorcist. The show eventually dissolves into an actual performance of the parody, with the second act depicting its premiere on Broadway. True chaos and mayhem ensues, however, when one of the of the actors actually gets demonically possessed during the performance, leading to the bloody demise of the whole theatrical endeavor. To be sure, this is meta-theatricality at full tilt, complete with several “time out” moments that allow the actors to satirically dissect the scene that just transpired. Fisher’s rock score is more than merely serviceable, with a number of catchy standout songs sprinkled throughout (“Make Peace With Your Demons” is a total hoot), making it right off the bat superior to some of the musical parodies out there. As as the possessed child Regan — ahem, “Megan” in the show, due to licensing issues — the legit cast is led by the oh-so-talented and completely unhinged Emma Hunton, who delivers an intoxicating performance that’s in equal measure top tier Idina Menzel and Alex Brightman’s Beetlejuice. The production has been smartly staged by co-directors Alli Miller and Chadd McMillan on Asylum’s intimate stage, often spilling out into the audience to maximize the immersion and handling the show’s excesses with giddy aplomb (an inspired touch is the inclusion of a nightly special guest to keep things fresh and the cast on its toes). At the end of the day, Exorcistic is just as much an ode to creating theater as it is to The Exorcist, calling to mind such iconic musicals as Little Shop of Horrors, Rent, and The Rocky Horror Show.

SLAM FRANK
Asylum NYC
Through October 26

Also at Asylum NYC and also utilizing a play-within-a-play framework is Andrew Fox and Joel Sinensky’s new satire Slam Frank (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), which takes up the late night post-Exorcistic slot at the Murray Hill comedy venue. In this seemingly unassuming show, the creative duo have set the story of The Diary of Anne Frank within the context of a theatrical adaptation being staged by a progressive, scrappy theater company, in which the title character is re-envisioned as a young queer Latinx woman and her family as an eccentrically diverse and motley group with representation across race, gender, and sexuality. Fox’s score is a delicious riff on various musical theater styles, smartly sending them up with lyrics that are invariably spot on. Sinensky’s book is razor sharp and hilariously insidious. But most importantly, the material isn’t afraid to push buttons and stir the pot. And boy, does it. No one is spared in Fox and Sinensky’s attempt to expose the ridiculousness of the current societal fun house we’ve created. As such, this ruthless little musical holds a mirror to the largely absurd world we live in. Indeed, things are repeatedly turned on their head so that you eventually don’t know which way is up, leaving your head spinning. Like Exorcistic, Slam Frank has a delirious ball sending up contemporary theater via sight gags big and small, which are brilliantly spun off by a game cast that’s exuberantly led by Olivia Bernábe as Anne Frank. And like Alli Miller and Chadd McMillan’s directorial work for Exorcistic, Sam Lafrage stages a tight production that fits snugly on the small stage. It’s hard to tell whether the cast is in on the joke, but by the time we all reach the sobering punch line, it’s too late — Slam Frank has the final say by having already subversively burnt the house down, but not without a winning smile and a chuckle. Indeed, unlike the early show, this late night offering ultimately has more on its mind than merely a good time.