Like most people who have any credibility when it comes to talking about musical theater, you should all know about Carrie, the notorious 1988 flop musical that was one of the biggest disasters of all time. Don't know about it? Read here, and watch this. Back? Okay, now to the good stuff.
The show centers around Carrie White, an outcast with an extremely religious mother, who has not really experienced the ways of life. After gym class one morning, whoops she has her period in the shower. Carrie starts freaking out and thinks she's dying, while the other girls throw tampons and maxi pads at her. Cue the gym teacher Ms. Gardner coming to her rescue and excusing her for the rest of the day. It's nice to see that some things never change, teen girls are bitches. Then we meet (well meet her as more than a spotlighted interview) Sue Snell, and guess what? She's a human and she has remorse! Aww she feels bad for making fun of Carrie and playing pin the tampon on the bloody towel along with the rest of the girls. So she's like "How can I apologize without being a total bitch."
Carrie goes home and we meet her crazy ass mom, who is like "Ut oh, Carrie, you're a woman now! You know what that means, I have to make sure no one taints you like they tainted me, so let's pray out your period girl!" Oh she also locks Carrie in a closet for having her period and then Carrie is all like "Look at me, I just discovered I have mind powers! What, watch me make this Jesus statue float!"
The next day, Ms. Gardner makes all the girls apologize for throwing tamps and pads at Carrie when she was bleeding all over herself. And one girl Chris, who is a bitch, is like "Hey Carrie, Eat Shit!" And guess what happens!?! Guess! Well fine, Chris doesn't get to go to the prom with her gayish boyfriend, she's banned, and instead of taking it out on Ms. Garnder, she's like "Carrie it's your fault!" (it's totes not, it's Ms. Garnder's fault, she's the one who banned you from the prom!) and Chris is going to get back at Carrie if it's the last thing she does (spoiler, it is!).
While all this nonsense is going on, Sue is like "Hey Tommy, my boyfriend, want to do me a solid? You do? Okay, well take Carrie to Prom! It will change her life forever! She deserves something nice!" So Tommy, like any teen boy looking to get a handful of boob and or the promise of sex is like "Alright! Fine!"
Cut to Prom night, Carrie's mom is like "Oh noes, Carrie is going to get pregnant! So I better kill her!" Carrie is like "Mom I still love you, but guess what?! I have magic powers, so you know, you can't stop me from murdering a bunch of HS students, I mean, go to prom!" So Carrie makes Tommy wait for a ridiculously long time at the door, and then they head off to prom together!
At the prom, remember when Chris was like "Carrie WHITE! GRRRR!" like Captain Kirk yelling "KHAAANNNNN!" Well she's hung a bucket of pig's blood over the stage and rigged the prom king and queen election so that Carrie wins. So guess what!?! Carrie and Tommy win prom king and queen, and pig's blood rains down on her! Dun Dun Dun! So Carrie kills everyone at the prom! Even the teachers! Sorry Ms. Gardner, it's your fault too!
Carrie comes home soaked in blood, her mom stabs her, she kills her mom, then she dies in Sue's arms! Awwwwww the end!
Okay, so the production was on a very minimal set, from the looks of it, much better than the stark white weirdness of the 1988 production. They also seemed to have toned down the campy aspects of the book, and tried to focus it more on exploring the humanity of the characters rather than making everyone a caricature of a HS student. Though I don't think this show can ever be as thoughtful as something like Spring Awakening.
The stark multilevel set, which was enhanced with projections as opposed to set pieces, was simple and effective. It was most effective in the last 20 minutes of the show when Carrie goes on her rampage, with lighting used to stimulate the blood drenching as opposed to actually having her being doused in blood (although that would have been amazing albeit a pain to clean up).
The cast, the cast, the cast! Molly Ranson was every bit as compelling and demure as Sissy Spacek in the original film version. The venerability and sensitivity that she brought to the role led the audience to cheer (if not audibly) for her when she murdered everyone at the prom. Hopefully this show gets recorded so people can hear her amazing interpretation of the score.
Marin Mazzie as Margaret White, Carrie's domineering mother was a revelation. The role could be easily overdone if not in the right hands, but Mazzie's interpretation was so spot on, that I wouldn't want to meet her in a dark alley for fear she would stab me to death.
Christy Altomare as Sue Snell, the well meaning, yet misguided classmate brought a tenderness and eagerness to the role. Her voice was amazing and she made what could have been an overplayed character into a likable heroine.
The rest of the chorus and cast including import Jeanna de Waal as the villainous Chris and Ben Thompson as her boyfriend Billy seemed to be playing to the obvious versions of the villains in the show and not exploring them more making them three dimensional. Derek Klena as Sue's boyfriend Tommy was cute and charming as the ill-fated suitor who accompanies Carrie to prom, and as gym teacher Ms. Gardner, Carmen Cusack brought a sensitivity and great chops to the part, making me wish they would have utilized her more in the show.
Overall the show was good. I would like to watch the original production to see how far they have come. It seems that this production could still use a bit of tweaking but overall it was an enjoyable theater experience.
Carrie the Musical 3 out of 4 stars
Carrie is currently playing at the Lucille Lortel Theatre through April 22, 2012
121 Christopher Street
New York, NY 10014
