Jonny Numb

It’s hackneyed as hell to say, but I’m going to say it: seeing Open Stage of Harrisburg‘s production of The Exorcist was a spiritual experience.

What led me to attend the October 27 show was two-fold:

1. I’d never been to Open Stage before (rather inexcusable, as I’m only a short drive away); and
2. This seemed like a perfect way to ring in the Halloween season.

There was basic curiosity, as well. How would William Peter Blatty’s novel and William Friedkin’s film adaptation – tattooed on the flesh of popular culture for all time – translate to a stage production? How would certain effects be achieved – or altered – when everything must happen in real time? How would the production distinguish itself from the enormous shadow cast by the preexisting versions?

Director Stuart Landon, who’s been a pillar of the Harrisburg theatre and film community for years, knows what he’s doing.

With The Exorcist, I was reminded of what a bizarre and intimate journey theatre is, and even more so when the subject matter itself is bizarre and intimate. It’s simply weird – in a good way – to be boxed in a room watching the actors and crew work their magic.

Something that hit unexpectedly hard for me was the tortured arc of Damien Karras (Jeff Luttermoser), a priest suffering a crisis of faith triggered by the recent death of his mother. Without going into too much (likely boring) detail, a recent therapy session had me exploring present feelings of guilt and linking them back to their original sources. Time and active self-improvement tend to offer the greatest possibilities for positive change…but sometimes those feelings linger, no matter how hard you try to move forward.

And sometimes, it takes an extenuating circumstance to put your own traumas and torments into perspective.

Luttermoser’s take on Karras reminded me of how Tom Hanks might interpret the role. A much more “everyman”-looking actor than the brooding, raven-haired Jason Miller, there’s a tricky undercurrent of despair and insecurity to his line delivery and body language that contradicts his priestly authority.

Tara Herweg is quite good as Chris MacNeil – with some of the more cinematic setpieces excised for the stage, the actress is given greater opportunity to explore the dramatic depths of her character. The play even includes a new subplot that enriches Chris’ struggle to reconcile the unfathomable events happening to her daughter against her own atheism.

Josh Dorsheimer is a hoot as Burke Dennings, a gay Catholic who doesn’t subscribe to his own faith. While the character is usually brought out as comic relief, he, too, is possessed of his own misgivings about some of the life choices he’s made, and is given a chance to bond with Karras over their interpersonal struggles with faith.

Rounding out the clergy, Brennen Dickerson is wonderful in a small yet crucial role as Karras’ compatriot and confidant Father Dyer. The performance is full of confidence and authority, drawing Luttermoser’s uncertainty and doubt into even sharper contrast. Ted Hanson’s interpretation of Father Lankester Merrin is solid, despite the character’s fleeting presence in the script (and yes, the actor – with the aid of some excellent lighting – gets to recreate the iconic “streetlight silhouette” image).

But the most pivotal bit of casting is Regan MacNeil, the innocent 12-year old who undergoes a possession that is horrific in its alteration of body and mind.

To this day, the book and film contain scenes that cross lines of taste and decency, and Landon has no qualms with presenting the most controversial moments onstage. The impact is frequently jaw-dropping.

Emily Reusswig is fearless in her depiction of Regan’s physicality, innocence, and madness. Her transformation of a wholesome child into something vulgar and demonic is as convincing and powerful as what Linda Blair brought to the role 50 years ago.

With the aid of a skilled production team, what appears to be a limited scope becomes otherworldly thanks to expert manipulation of light and sound. One of the biggest alterations to the material comes in the form of Regan’s early contact with the demon via Ouija Board. A sly and persuasive voice gives form to a manifestation we see only in glimpses throughout the play, and the result is chillingly effective because it’s such a departure from the known.

More than once, I felt shivers clamber down my spine, which attests to The Exorcist‘s power all these years later, and the promise held within this exciting East Coast premiere of the production.

4 out of 5 stars

The Exorcist runs through October 31 at Open Stage of Harrisburg (and I wish I’d seen it earlier in the month).

(Header image via PA On Stage)