A paper boat floats down the petite gutter river; a little boy chasing from behind. The boat – the S.S. Georgie – picks up speed and sails down the sewer drain, far out of the little boy’s reach. Luckily for him, the sewer is not empty, but home to a friendly clown named Pennywise, who hands the boat back to its owner, but not before the malicious clown tears the boy’s arm off… while singing and dancing to Styx’s “Come Sail Away.” IT the Musical

This is not Stephen King’s 1986 novel IT, nor the 1990 mini-series. It’s not even the 2017 or 2019 films that are currently so popular. This is a Rockwell Musical Parody of IT, with a Pennywise who has an affinity for pompadours and dances to Britney Spears. IT The Musical is dinner theater at Rockwell Table & Stage; guests can dine on a full dinner (or dessert) menu, try one of the themed cocktails – like “January Embers” or “The Deadlights” – or order from the full bar, all while watching the show. Also of note is that there’s a two item minimum for each guest.

IT The Musical uses the two recent films as its foundation and then turns the story on its head, lampooning King’s generalization of female characters and lackluster or confusing endings, as well as infusing the tale with pop culture references and energetic musical numbers. While audiences do not need to know the source material going into the show, it definitely helps. Deftly using the recent films to delineate the two Acts of the stage show, IT The Musical injects the story with new, invigorating life.

While the general plot points of Stephen King’s story remain the same, IT The Musical takes its time to bathe in the absurd moments inherent in the narrative, and pokes fun at plot holes and inconsistencies. The only female in the Losers’ Club, Beverly is touted as “the girl who just got her period,” a staple in King novels, and keeps her abusive father drama off stage. Mike, who is played by former Old Spice spokesperson Isaiah Mustafa in the 2019 film, makes references to those iconic television ads. And since King is known for his lackluster endings, IT The Musical takes liberties to create its own ending that makes just as little sense.

Even though the jokes make fun of the source material, there is an obvious love for IT, apparent in the thoughtfulness of the staging. The performers of IT The Musical weave in and out of the seated and dining audience, interacting on occasion, creating the sense that the story is playing out all around them. The different locations around the Rockwell dining room – the bar, the upper stage, the walkways – all serve to put the characters in different locations in lieu of building new and proper sets. Similarly, the time jump between Acts 1 and 2 is easily denoted by simple costume changes – except for Pennywise, who changes elaborate and stylish clown ensembles often. Under the direction of Nathan Moore, IT The Musical achieves a sense of space and time with very few add-ons.

The songs woven throughout IT The Musical are inspired and expertly played by the live band led by Gregory Nabours. The songs of Act 1 – including “Come Sail Away,” “Boys of Summer,” and a beautifully haunting version of “99 Red Balloons” – all seem to be natural picks for an IT musical, however, one of the highlights is an energetic version of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which isn’t an obvious choice. I commend Nabours and writer John Flynn for such a clever and fun arrangement. The songs of Act 2, however, are more surprising and a little harder to justify at times; “Bad Romance” and “Elastic Heart,” while performed beautifully, stand out as being odd song choices within the context of the narrative. The aforementioned Britney Spears medley – again, while fun – is somewhat overwhelming and oddly placed with its multiple overlapping songs. Nonetheless, all of the music is beautifully arranged and played on stage by Nabours, Liam Kevany, Blake Estrada, and Sterling Laws.

To say the performers in IT The Musical are well-cast and extremely talented would be an understatement. Sterling Sulieman as Bill, stutter and all, solidly heads up the Losers Club and has tender moments with Georgie… well, parts of him. Lana McKissack nicely plays Eddie, with his frantic and nervous energy, but really stands out as Georgie, shuffling around on her knees after a gigantic paper boat. Gwen Hollander (Beverly) and Trevin Goin (Ben) beautifully harmonize and excel in their portrayals of pre-teen angst. A stand-out among the cast is Janaya Mahealani Jones as both the terrified Stan and the menacing bully Henry Bowers; she wonderfully plays both ends of the emotional spectrum. Her vocals soar in “Elastic Heart,” and stand out in the group numbers. As much as the members of the Losers Club nail their roles, this show belongs to Garrett Clayton as Pennywise. Doing the majority of the heavy lifting in his stunning solos and dance numbers, Clayton also interacts with the audience, offering them lackluster balloon animals and even performing a subtle magic trick. He revels in the menacing yet fabulous role, rocking various hairstyles and intricate costumes, and even dancing in platform heels. As a whole, the cast meshes well together and energetically plays up the comedy in this enjoyable musical.

Rockwell Table & Stage has made a name for itself by putting on brilliant productions, and IT The Musical is one of their best. The joke-filled script and musical numbers are well-crafted, ingeniously placed, and delightfully performed by an extraordinary cast with infectious energy. Current and tongue-in-cheek, IT The Musical is a fabulous night of dinner and entertainment – and perfect as a date night for any horror-loving couple.

IT The Musical Parody runs now through November 10th; buy tickets HERE. Find out more about Rockwell Table & Stage and their upcoming shows on their website, Instagram and Facebook page. Make sure to subscribe to our Event Calendar for more musicals and horror entertainment throughout the year.

All photos by Bryan Carpender.

If you like the above article and want to find more like it, make sure to join our community. If Facebook is your favorite, follow us there and become a part of our groups for Immersive Horror fans and/or Immersive creators. We’re active on Instagram, posting evocative imagery and informative stories to promote our reviews and recollections; follow us there. You can even find us on twitter; click here to follow. For those who want to explore deeper, we have a vibrant Slack community with new event alerts and immediate ticket sale announcements; click here to join. And subscribe to our event calendar to get emails for all or specific events (look for the link right under the calendar)! Finally, we have a newsletter that comes out once a week; click here to sign up.

IT the musical IT the musical IT the musical IT the musical IT the musical IT the musical IT the musical IT the musical IT the musical IT the musical