Review: IT: A MUSICAL PARODY at Chelsea Table + Stage Is The Show To See This Halloween

In the classic tradition of Spamalot, The Thirty-Nine Steps, and Avenue Q, IT: A MUSICAL PARODY has arrived in New York City, not-so-freshly off of a smash-hit Los Angeles run. After playing The City of Angels in 2019, the production created by the team at Rockwell Musical Parodies ceased all momentum with the lockdown of 2020, only to resurface in Manhattan this week, just in time for Halloween. The only thing is that IT is not a Halloween show. Oh, IT is absolutely appropriate to play during the Season Of The Ghouls, IT is certainly a welcome play for All Hallows Eve, but IT is a production for any time of year. Indeed, IT could play year-round, in cities around the country, rather like the modern-day cult experience Sleep No More, or the more classic cult outing The Rocky Horror Show. Indeed, seeing the production currently running at Chelsea Table + Stage was rather like being at The Rocky Horror Show of our youth, with audience members who know the show so well that they were doing the choreography from their seats, with the company members, who clearly know these fans, using them as scene partners, playing with them from the stage, the way any good improv or sketch actor would do. Factually, there was a young woman at this writer's table who flew in from Los Angeles just to see the production, having enjoyed the show eleven times on the West Coast before the pandemic took IT away from her. IT was rewarding to enjoy the show in real-time, but also through this devotee's devotion, devotion that is not misplaced. IT is not a far stretch of the imagination, attending the production repeatedly, so unbelievably fun is IT.

What writer John Flynn and director Nathan Moore have done here is to create a piece of theater that can be enjoyed on many different levels. Whether a person is a fan of the IT novel, the 1990 miniseries, or the 2017 film series, they can enjoy this production. If a person is into parody (or even satire, sketch comedy, or any other performance style that lends itself to the outrageous and over-the-top), they can enjoy this play. When a person loves Top Forty, pop classics, and radio hits, they can get into this experience. And for anyone that just likes fierce singing, exciting dancing, and the artists who can execute them, this is the show to see. A deep working knowledge of IT is not required for this play. One could read the synopsis online and walk in the door, confident that a good time is in store. This writer could break IT down for anyone in one sentence: in rural America, a shapeshifting alien is killing children while in the guise of an evil clown, and a group of misfits must battle IT, once as children, and once as grown-ups. Flynn, Moore, and Musical Director Gregory Nabours have created, for eight mind-blowingly talented actors, a musical play populated by famous songs by famous bands, amazingly fitting these hit recordings in a manner that doesn't only advance the storyline, they enhance IT by making the play feel comfortable, like an old friend. Sitting in the audience and watching this horror story told through hilarious humor and thrilling choreography by Mallory Butcher, there are personal little thrills when you recognize the song by Journey, if you geek out to Goldfinger, as you howl over the Dionne Warwick number, and as the epic Britney Spears medley washes over you. If the score to IT: A MUSICAL PARODY were made up of original material, chances are IT would be a good score, but since IT is made up of compositions we all know and love, IT becomes personal, allowing us, the audience, to lean into the comedy even harder. The laugh factor here is off the charts, and IT isn't just the lines, the lampooning of whichever version of IT each of us knows, or the immense talents of the actors, for there are cleverly scripted references to current-day news situations that put us all in the inside joke. This is parody at ITs most meticulously crafted.

And this is theater at ITs most exceptionally performed.

Playing a variety of roles and a variety of ages Vanjah Alexander, E.K. Dagenfield, Trevin Goin, Gwen Hollander, Janaya Mahealani Jones, Katie Self, and Sterling Sulieman all scale the heights of greatness with comedy chops, dance background, and acting abilities that can be, at times, shocking. But when IT comes to the singing, one is left wondering why these fine folks aren't in Broadway musicals - that's how good they are. The creative team at Rockwell has assembled a cast made up of some of the best in the business, and IT isn't difficult to wish them all continued success at their artistic ventures, especially after seeing the generosity with which they all relate to the members of the audience, an audience that, clearly, adores them.

And then there is the matter of Garrett Clayton, the powerhouse tasked with the responsibility of bringing Pennywise to life. The show is built around Mr. Clayton's overwhelming talent, as he stamps through the entire venue in block pumps, twirling, posing, flirting, high kicking, and serving up the greatest tongue-in-cheek menace a person could ever imagine possible... or dream of. Since Pennywise is a shapeshifter, Clayton gets to play a lot of characters, a lot of moods, and a lot of varying brands of wicked, and with vocals and terpsichore of this level, Garrett becomes that perfect entity in all of show business: the villain that you love. Not one wrong move is made, not one unimpressive note is sung, and not one pose is struck that doesn't illicit The Gay Gasp. The Divo has arrived, and he has done so in the person of Garrett Clayton, the dirtiest, evil-est, nastiest, wicked-est, scariest monster you ever wanted to follow down into the sewer. Clayton gives a carnival ride of a performance, and when IT's over, you want to go 'round again.

IT: A MUSICAL PARODY is playing through Halloween but IT should be playing longer because IT has everything IT needs to become the biggest hit in town. Indeed, in two months when this writer is composing his BEST OF 2022 list (spoiler alert) IT will be on that list. IT's a shame the production can't last longer, but IT is a limited engagement, so take out an afternoon, revisit the version of IT that is your most favorite, or just read the Wikipedia synopsis, and then Hie Thee to Chelsea Table + Stage where IT is a perfect fit, for the club, for the season at hand, and for your entertainment needs.

IT: A MUSICAL PARODY is performed with one intermission, twice daily on the 29th and 30th, with single shows on the 23rd, 27th, 28th, and the 31st. For tickets visit the Chelsea Table + Stage website HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher; Visit the Stephen Mosher website HERE.

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