The spooky season is upon us. And no, that is not a reference to Halloween, but instead it is a nod to the musical that is creeping people out at Blank Canvas Theatre in the historic 78th St. Studios on Cleveland’s west side. And if the crisp fall air and the crunchy leaves give you a yen for some campy horror drama, “Carrie The Musical,” based on the novel by Stephen King, is your best bet for weekend plans.

The makeup of the audience on Oct. 17 was a reminder that Blank Canvas is one of the theaters in town that attracts a younger crowd, so it is very possible that only a small percentage of audience members were traumatized as kids by the 1976 film starring Sissy Spacek as the title character. Who can unsee the image of poor tortured Carrie with the whites of her eerie eyes peering through the pig’s blood as she burns down the prom? (Oops…spoiler alert.)

If all this is unfamiliar to you, don’t worry … the plot of the musical is basically the same.

With a book by Lawrence D. Cohen, music by Michael Gore and lyrics by Dean Pitchford, the story begins with mousy high school senior, Carrie White (McKenna Hassel), being bullied and tormented by the girls in her class after she menstruates for the first time and thinks she’s dying. That is also the moment when her telekinetic powers become evident. When she gets angry, she lashes out and destroys things with her mind.

Margaret White (Amber Michalak), Carrie’s religious-fanatic, overprotective single mom who lives by the word of the Bible, locks her in a prayer room to repent, and keeps her naive. When Carrie questions why her mother hasn’t taught her the facts of life, Margaret yells that she is cursed, and makes her pray.

Chris Hargensen (Liza Dwyer) is one of the biggest bullies and counts on her bestie Sue Snell (Nat Harper) to go along with the cruelty against Carrie, but Sue feels so guilty, she tries to make amends instead. She has the idea that her boyfriend Tommy Ross (Reed Randall Kruger) should take Carrie to prom to help her feel more included. In an English class, Carrie had expressed that she liked one of Tommy’s poems, and they connected, so Sue thinks Tommy could give Carrie one happy night to remember.

Sue and Tommy mean well, but Chris and her boyfriend Billy (Kareem Mchaourab) use the prom as an opportunity to carry out a cruel prank. They fix the votes to ensure that the prom king and queen are Tommy and Carrie, and just when Carrie is finally having one moment of glory, a bucket of pig’s blood is dumped on her head. Carrie is so humiliated, she breaks. Her powers are unleashed, and she ignites a fire that torches the school and kills all of the students.

Sue, who didn’t attend the prom, tries to find Carrie after the carnage, arriving at her house just after Margaret stabs Carrie with scissors and Carrie kills her mom. Carrie ultimately dies in Sue’s arms.

Those of us that grew up on the film, or King’s novel, won’t be bothered by the updates to the story, like the fact that it is set in current times where cell phones and social media are at everyone’s fingertips…literally. In fact, sadly, the story holds up.

What doesn’t necessarily hold up is the musical itself. The music is clunky, unmemorable and sometimes just kind of weird, although this cast can sing the heck out of it. In fact every cast member is strong vocally, while the acting is more of a mixed bag.

Hassel is incredible as “the timid turned tyrant, Carrie White.” She takes us through all the “feels” as she comes of age before our eyes. She embodies shy Carrie, curious Carrie and the Carrie who is pushed beyond the brink. Her stellar vocals give her songs the life they need.

Hassel’s duets with Michalak, who is the perfect choice for Margaret, are haunting and beautiful. Michalak’s voice is clear as a bell, with a powerful and tender classical tone that compliments Hassel’s voice beautifully. The chemistry between the two of them makes every one of their scenes appropriately uncomfortable and tragic.

Harper wins us over as Sue Snell, whose conscience redeems her character. She is so natural, making Sue much more likable, and her voice has a really unique, pretty quality that adds some interesting color to her songs.

There is absolutely nothing likable about the character of Chris, but there is nothing but love for Dwyer’s portrayal of this villain, and her big, belty voice.

As Tommy Ross, Kruger’s vocals are his strength. His rendition of the song “Dreamer in Disguise,” is beautiful. This role is not necessarily a perfect fit for him, but he makes it work because of his strength as an actor.

Mchaourab does a nice job as Billy, John Travolta’s role in the film. His character isn’t really developed in this musical version, but he has some nice vocal moments, and he plays the sleazy sidekick well.

Autumn Vinciquerra plays PE teacher Miss Gardner, and while she started out a bit stilted during this performance, she settled in as the show went on, and really owned the role with her singing voice.

The ensemble is energetic, vocally strong and executes Luke Scattergood and Justin Bilewicz’s quirky choreography with ease, adding the campy fun to a really dark show.

Scattergood had a daunting task directing this musical that flopped in 1988 and got mixed reviews for its revival in 2012, but this scaled down version at Blank Canvas Theatre, with its committed cast and production team, is loads of freaky fun, befitting audiences full of both “Carrie” fans and “Carrie” first-timers.

Sheri Gross is the CJN theatre critic. She is a performer, director and freelance writer from Solon. She was the director of the Mandel JCC Playmakers Youth Theatre and Pilloff Performing Arts Camp for over 20 years and is the director of creative programs at Gross Schechter Day School in Pepper Pike. To read more from her, visit cjn.org/gross.