Doesn't Anybody Get it Right?! Carrie! Carrie!

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

For Tickets Click Here

Love Never Dies, But Someone Does!

After witnessing The Phantom of The Opera live an in person, I decided that I needed to see the sequel since you know who likes a tale of murder and rape love more than me? So finding myself without enough money in my bank account to travel to Sydney to see the production of Love Never Dies live and in the flesh, I was delighted to see that there would be a Fathom events production of the show broadcast for two shows only. So myself along with friend and fellow theater blogger/vlogger, we set off to see the spectacle that is as Andrew Lloyd Webber put it "my most complex and beautiful work."

So the show starts out 10 years after the original with the Phantom alone on stage singing a song about how Christine ruined him for forever, and that no song he ever writes will ever be the same again, unless she sings it. Alright, alright, calm down Phantom your music is too complex and no one understands it, and I doubt the beautiful singing of Christine can salvage it. We soon learn that the Phantom is loaded, like dolla dolla bills y'all loaded. He owns a vaudeville freak show in Coney Island (yes there is a little person in the cast, who is more or less used as a human prop), and guess who the star of his show is! You'll never guess, okay I'll tell you, Meg Giriy! Remember her? The girl who holds up the mask at the end of the first one? Well she grew up, and aged 20 years (or 30), and she's a singer now, hoping for her big break, will she get it? Who knows!

After Meg does her weird dance/song thing, we learn that Christine and Raoul are coming to America (oh PS Christine is a mega star now! Like huge, everyone knows her), to sing at the opening of a new opera in NYC, but wait! The Phantom tricks her into performing at his vaudeville show instead. Oh and guess what? Christine now has a German son named Gustav, and guess what, he's musically gifted! Could it be? Could it? Is it The Phantom's son?! Anyway, Raoul lost all his money and Christine is all like "don't worry baby, with my skills I'll take care of you!"

Then came one of the most head scratching moments of all, a weird love duet between the Phantom and Christine. My impression in the first show, is that Christine was mesmerized by the Phantom, she was not in love with him, he used his power over her to manipulate her, and eventually raping her, he raped her remember? Do you, cos he did. Anyway, in this new show, Christine is actually madly in love with the Phantom and willing copulated with him. Uh alright, that's fine throw out major plot points, and make it a new story, okay.

So after the Phantom and Christine are all over each other, Raoul is like "I'm going to make a bet with the Phantom, about who Christine loves more." Yadda, yadda, yadda, long story short, Meg doesn't get her big break, Christine sings a weird song dressed as a peacock, and then bam someone gets shot. The end, I would describe more, but it's time to get to the critique.

Okay ALW, I get that you have some of the most successful musicals of all time, and you know what, it's okay to stop writing musicals, it really is. I promise. You've lost touch with reality, your ego has gotten so large that you think you can do no wrong, but you have, oh you have.

The score sounds like all the throw-away songs from other musicals, the overproduced scores that you are known for, it's a mess. And Glenn Slater, your lyrics are lazy, like you weren't even trying, you gave everyone expected rhymes and cheesy lyrics. I cannot fault the performers since they went above and beyond the material and elevated it to something (albeit a bad something, in less capable hands, the show would have been an even bigger mess).

Your characters, all your characters did a 180 from the original production, Phantom is still crazy yes, but Raoul turned into a mean drunk, whereas before he was a loving person who fought viciously to protect his soon to be bride from a rapist and murderer. Christine turned into an idiot, in the original production she was sort of strong and stood up for herself, and was like "Uh Phantom you raped me but I forgive you, you are a victim of circumstance, but you're still bad, so no we're not bf/gf." Meg turned from innocent dancer into a weird crazy bitch who was jealous of everyone and ends up killing someone! What?!

I don't recommend seeing this sequel. If you're a die hard Phantom fan you will probably be disappointed since the music and plot do not live up to the original.

The production probably will not come to NYC, so if you want to see it, you'll have to fly to Australia.

1 star out of 4

Phantom of the Opera . . . The Legend will Never Die

So after putting it off for 23 years, I finally hauled my ass over to the Majestic Theater to see the longest running Broadway musical of all time, The Phantom of the Opera. I can see why the show has been running for as long as it has, it's a convoluted story in which the audience is blinded by sparkles, flashes, and a slow moving chandelier.

The story: Christine Daaé is a young dancer in the core of the Paris Opera, who has secretly been taking voice lessons with Erik (although we never learn that that's his real name) aka the Phantom, and guess what? She gets a chance to show her chops when the Opera's leading lady Carlotta gets all freaked out when a piece of scenery drops unexpectedly. So Christine sings some song about thinking of her when a guy is off to war or something. During her cray-cray performance her old friend Raoul is there, and guess what? He's a millionaire who has decided to finance the Paris Opera! Whaaaaat?! Crazy!

Anyway, Raoul goes back to Christine's dressing room and is all like "Oh child you were great" then the Phantom is all, who is that trying to get my girl, so while Raoul goes to get his coat or something, the Phantom takes Christine to his lair, under the opera house. She passes out when she sees a wedding dress on a mannequin, and the Phantom is all like "Whoops, didn't mean to freak you out" so he plays the organ horribly and continues to compose his opera and everyone is looking for Christine.

Anyway, everyone gets notes from the Phantom about how respect and his salary must be paid, and then Carlotta is all "Oh hell no! This is my opera fool! I am the star, not Christine!" and then convinces everyone that this is a all a ploy to help Christine become a star.

Long story short, the Phantom kills a bunch of people, shows us his monster face, kidnaps Christine, tries to kill Raoul, then at the end vanishes. Look up the real plot if you're so inclined.

So the production, after having run for 23 years, it is not tired at all. The actors are all really into in. They are also all horrible singers, for the most part. The phrasing of certain notes is completely off and makes Lloyd Webber's score sound weird. I was impressed with the fact that these people some of whom have been doing the show since it opened are still giving it 100%.

The main thing I have a problem with was all the canned music, it was like half the music was canned and the other half was live? Makes no sense. They even managed to have one song that was fully prerecorded and Christine just lip synced the whole thing? Really? I did not pay money to go see a show where the cast lip-syncs! This is Broadway, sing live! That's the point!

All the acting was like community theater acting, you can't schmact the whole show like you're a recent college grad doing summer stock in Kansas. I wonder if the original cast played the show serious, it would have been a lot better if the whole cast was like "This is legit theater, let's all play it as real as possible."

I guess you can't fault the stage managers for instructing their new casts to play it big since most of the people in the audience do not speak English.

The special effects were also pretty crazy, I am sure in 1988 when Christine sat on her half-boat and floated in the lake under the opera house (side note, who builds an opera house on top of a lake!?!!!!), and the "crashing" chandelier (it didn't so much as crash as glide gently towards the stage) were awesome, but now they just seem tired and dated.

Overall the show was alright, I probably wouldn't go back unless someone totally amazing was playing the Phantom and they cast Britney Spears as Christine (since most her part is lip-synced anyway)

The Phantom of the Opera is currently playing an open-ended run at the Majestic Theater which is located on 245 W. 44th Street (btwn 7th and 8th Avenue) tickets may be purchased via Telecharge.

Andrew Jackson He's Our Man

After reading all the glowing reviews I decided that I should probably go see one of the most buzzed about shows of the season, The Public Theater's commercial Broadway transfer of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.

Told through a series of sketches and forgettable songs that don't really move the plot forward. The show does employ a device that I have long missed in the musical theater setting, The Storyteller. Although they never really explain if she is a tour guide, or an Andrew Jackson superfan, who just happens to show up during the middle of a very awkward rock concert. They end up killing her ala Into The Woods, although unlike in that show, she comes back, twice.

The performances in the show are strong, especially Benjamin Walker who is only person who doesn't play more than one role, as Andrew Jackson. He exudes a macho sexuality that although at times can be one dimensional, he manages to capture the audiences attention the whole show. The other stand-out in the cast is NYC improv and sketch mainstay Jeff Hiller in a variety of roles including John Quincy Adams. Hiller manages to steal every scene that he's in, he also received the loudest applause during the curtain call.

The show's main flaws are the songs and the narrative. There were points when the music was playing that I couldn't understand what was being sung. The songs also did not help to move the plot along, they seemed more random than anything else, and the lyrics sounded like they were being made up on the spot. The songs contributed to the problem with the narrative. The narrative was almost non-existent, the book just appeared to be a series of sketches with song interludes. Killing off the storyteller may have not been a good idea, because she could have been the through line that held the book together, explaining what was happening onstage for those of us in the audience who just knew that Jackson was responsible for The Trail of Tears, but not of his dealings with the native tribes before the ultimate end result.

The show ran about an hour and forty-five minutes without an intermission. The show could have been trimmed a little and the book tightened up before it moved to the Broadway stage. Considering how long the show has been in development, the book should have been tight and the narrative stronger. You should go see the show because I have a feeling that Benjamin Walker's star is on the rise, and you can say you saw him when, you should also the show for Jeff Hiller who's comedic styling's are almost custom tailored to him.

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson is playing an open ended run at The Bernard B. Jacobs Theater located at 242 West 45th Street, New York, NY 10036. Tickets are available through Telecharge.

photos copyright BroadwayWorld.com 2010

75 Minute History Lesson?

If you have to see one one man show this year, playing at the smallest Broadway theater make it Colin Quinn: Long Story Short now playing at the Helen Hayes Theater.

Long Story Short started Off-Broadway at the temporarily closed 45 Bleeker theater and moved to the Helen Hayes Theater in October of 2010.

I had no expectations going into this show, and no knowledge of what the show was about. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised by Quinn's sharp dialogue and the pacing of the show. Much of the show's fast paced style is probably attributed to the direction of Jerry Seinfeld.

The use of of the multimedia in the show was fun, but at the same time it was distracting. Much of the time my focus was drawn to the giant screen behind Mr. Quinn as opposed to Quinn himself. The blackouts used to distinguish the separation of different periods of history were at times a bit jarring, I am sure they could have used a better device for transitions.

The show although only 75 minutes managed to put to sleep some of the audience members in the theater. It at times could drag, but for the most part the show was very well paced. There was also a pamphlet inserted in the program that reminded people to refrain from "hooting and hollering" which I guess the couple next to me didn't seem to read, they managed to treat the show like a midnight viewing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and finished lines and talked back to Mr. Quinn.

Sales for the show are not doing well, the balcony to the theater was closed the night I went, and they were moving people to the orchestra, which still had many empty rows.

Overall if you enjoy Colin Quinn's brand of humor and world history then go see this show, and if you're on the fence, go see the show anyway.

Colin Quinn: Long Story Short playing the Helen Hayes Theater at 240 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036 through January 8th. Tickets may be purchased through Telecharge.

Promise Me That Sean Hayes Will Do More Musicals.

Promises, Promises the first revival of the 1968 show penned by Burt Bacarach, Hal David, with a book by Neil Simon, now in residence at the gigantic Broadway Theater, left me feeling less than fulfilled.

I guess the show itself can't be faulted, because it's a product of it's time, but I can see why it hasn't gotten a major revival in 40 years. The show is very dated, and without script changes to make the show's 60's flair more contemporary, I must say it's a relic of a bygone era.


The only thing that saved this show are two stand-out performances. The first being that of Sean Hayes, making his Broadway debut as put-upon corporate employee Chuck Baxter who lends out his apartment to executives so they can have affairs, hoping that this will lead to promotions. It does eventually, but not before he has his heart torn out when he realizes that one of his bosses is having an affair with the object of his affections Fran(played by Kristin Chenoweth). Mr. Hayes, filling the shoes of the late Jerry Orbach was absolutely fantastic in his first starring role on Broadway. He added a charm and energy to a show that was for the most part dull and lifeless. His voice sounded very tired, which makes me wonder how he'll be able to sustain the rigors of 8 shows a week, but he is forgiven since his character is onstage almost the entire show. Mr. Hayes has a very long career ahead of him as a leading man in Broadway musicals. Hopefully he'll be able to successfully make the transition from TV to stage like David Hyde Peirce did.

The other standout performance goes to Katie Finneran who, in her two scenes manages to make us forget that most of us came to the show to see Broadway star Chenoweth. Finneran plays Marge MacDougall a lush whom Chuck Baxter meets at a bar on Christmas eve after finding out that Fran is sleeping with his boss. She manages to wake the audience up after the sleepy first act, before disappearing and never to be seen again. She and Hayes are the true reasons the show manages to stay afloat as long as it does.

Onto Kristin Chenoweth, I have seen Chenoweth excel in comedic parts where she is able to inflect a hint of seriousness, such as her amazing turn in The Apple Tree a few years ago, but here, I don't know if it's just that fact that she is miscast in the role, or if she is too old to be playing a young naive executive lunch room hostess, but she fails to show the audience any of the star power that made us love her in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, or her guest spots on Glee. Add to her flat performance the fact that they shoehorned two extra Bacarach/David songs into the show specifically to beef up her part, and her performance just doesn't add up. While she sings beautifully and acts incredibly, Chenoweth as Fran fails to win any of the audience over, as we soon realize her character is a sad pathetic one dimensional person who can only be happy with the love of a man.

Overall the show was meerly okay, the good performances balance out the bad ones and the out of date book. The show would have succeeded more had they brought in a new bookwriter to update the sexist reference and made them more tongue in cheek and less blatant and offensive.

Promises, Promises
Broadway Theater
1681 Broadway(at 53rd Street)
New York, NY 10036
Tickets: 212-239-6200

Book: Neil Simon
Music and Lyrics: Hal David and Burt Bacarach

I'll Wait for the Rapture if it's Like This!

I had the immense pleasure of being able to see Sherie Rene Scott's amazing one woman show Everyday Rapture which officially opens today at the American Airlines Theater.

First off I will say that in the past I have not been a fan of Scott's voice, I find it to be grating and very nasal. But live the nasal qualities of her voice that come through so strong on her recordings are not as pronounced. That being said, Scott won me over as a new convert.

Her show is a pitch perfect blend of popular songs and amazing storytelling. It never once felt like I was watching a one person show, which can sometimes drag an get boring as the performer tells tales of themselves and how great they are. I feel that the reason why the show doesn't drag, is because it isn't structured like a normal one person show, with bits and stories leading into songs from the performer's career, it's structured as a musical, with a story line and songs that help move the plot along. The show tells the story of Scott's upbringing in Kansas and how her family was half-Mennonite or as she refers to it as Amish Light, and her road to the Broadway stage.

The standout songs are a version of "You Made Me Love You" sung to a montage of pictures of Jesus and "My Strongest Suit," I would explain more about "My Strongest Suit" but I want everyone to go see it for yourself, because it was that amazing, and no words I can write would do it justice.

The show is filled with humor as well as touching moments, like Scott's story about her favorite cousin who died of AIDS.

Something must also be said of the supporting cast as well, which includes Lindsay Mendez and Betsy Wolfe as Scott's back-up singers the Mennonettes and Eamon Foley as a superfan(he plays a part in "My Strongest Suit" that's all I'm going to say) who were all fantastic and amazing!

So like the title of this post suggests, if this is what the real rapture is going to be like, then sign me up! As for all of you, get your asses down to the American Airlines Theater before July 11th to see this show before it closes it's limited run and you'll never be able to see it again.

Everyday Rapture
American Airlines Theater
227 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
Tickets: (212)719-1300

Book by Sherie Rene Scott and Dick Scanlan
Directed by Michael Mayer