Carrie post-mortem

[Leadingplayer]

For people who saw it in 1988....were you disappointed in the revival?

[Leadingplayer]

I feel kind of depressed that I missed the revival. My tickets were for next week.

[PalJoey]

The New York Times carries the obituary today.

So what went wrong? Or put another way, as some theater bloggers and critics have, was “Carrie” salvageable as a stage musical in the first place?

New York Times: ‘Carrie’ Revival, Now Dead, Has an Autopsy

[newintown]

Gore, Pitchford, and Cohen will clearly go to their graves screaming that they created a misunderstood masterpiece.

I would love to see Christopher Guest do a movie based on three no-talents who think they're geniuses.. oh, wait - doesn't that new Three Stooges movie come out this week?

[AEA AGMA SM]

And of course unless they go and see a final dress and give their seal if approval to every production they license they will never be able to keep the camp out of it. The original material is just too readily available to keep some "visionary" from thinking they can make the show work be restoring some of the cut stuff. Just look at how many people here cried for the fate of "I'm Not Alone."

Carrie is going to be tinkered with and Frankensteined together into so many different versions, just like everyone does with Cabaret (which I've never seen the same version of twice, every company out there seems to like to create their own version out of elements of the original, movie, and the Mendes revival, as well as their own "insight")

[Auggie27]

The news of the recording seals the deal: the show will never die. I saw the original 3 times, the revival twice (early and late), felt there were good things in both productions, of course many unfortunate choices, too. The material simply engages many people, and turns off others; there will never be some ultimate verdict, as is the case with cult material. It will be available for licensing, and my guess is, turn up on colleges everywhere forever. 5 singing roles for women, all parts but 1 under 40 (the male teacher can be any age), meaty vocals, who believes it won't ultimately prove popular? CARRIE is back, and my guess is, won't ever go away again.

[newintown]

I'm sure they said the same thing about Glory Days.

[JoeKv99]

You have to hand it to Peter Felicia- Tired of loving whatever you hate and hating whatever you love he managed to be bitchily blase about something people feel strongly about.

[Leadingplayer]

Why are they so opposed to camp?

[FindingNamo]

There's mumbles on the dl of a transfer to the Kirk Douglas Theater in LA. Seems like a great idea. It'll be as huge as Hedwig!

[Idiot]

That theater gives me panic attacks. Those aisles never freakin' end. And this production in that house? I'd need a Xanax drip.

[CarlosAlberto]

The news of the recording seals the deal: the show will never die. I saw the original 3 times, the revival twice (early and late), felt there were good things in both productions, of course many unfortunate choices, too. The material simply engages many people, and turns off others; there will never be some ultimate verdict, as is the case with cult material. It will be available for licensing, and my guess is, turn up on colleges everywhere forever. 5 singing roles for women, all parts but 1 under 40 (the male teacher can be any age), meaty vocals, who believes it won't ultimately prove popular? CARRIE is back, and my guess is, won't ever go away again.


WOW! Obsessed much?

[ajh]

Never saw the original but loved reading about it in Not Since Carrie, and I came to the revival/reimagining with a fairly open mind -had a great time. I didn't find it bland at all, found the "bullying" aspects timely and thought-provoking, loved the score (am so glad that there will be a recording)and really enjoyed the performances. I was actually quite moved. The friend I went with doesn't see alot of theatre and didn't know about the musical's camp reputation....his reaction interested me in that he absolutely loved it: had tears pouring down his face at the end and, when we were discussing it afterwards, said he couldn't imagine how it could have been a camp extravaganza first time round. Am sad this production didn't have a longer life but I do think that, in these troubled times, many people just want a musical to either make them laugh hysterically (like BoM), or knock them sideways with sheer exhilarating energy (like Newsies). For a downbeat musical to succeed right now I think it either needs to field a major star like Ricky Martin or be an out-and-out masterpiece a la Sweeney Todd.

[Leadingplayer]

I wonder if having a star in the cast could have saved it. Hard to think who they could have got

[CarlosAlberto]

Oh just stop. The show is a mess.

[best12bars]

Obviously, one of the major problems with "Carrie: The Musical" has nothing to do with how good or bad it is. For general audiences (which you must have to run a show for any substantial length of time), the perception is on a par with "Jaws: The Musical" or "The Exorcist: The Musical." It immediately raises eyebrows, and not in a good way.

Also, whether this adaptation is campy or not, the popular film had those overtones, so audiences will assume the musical follows suit. Even before they see it, most people will think this is going to be silly and forgettable even if it tries to scare them. And if they happen to hear it's not campy and a "serious" or "realistic" approach, then they'll wonder why it's not like the movie.

All of these perceptions have nothing to do with the musical. I suppose if strong word of mouth had persisted with unqualified raves, people would come (the general folks). But without them, once you exhaust the curiosity factor, it's time to close up shop.

[anothervodkastinger2]

YES! Those turds have no right telling this story. we need to take it away from them. They don't get to play with Carrie anymore. Bad boys (making scolding face and wagging finger)

Although I get to scratch "See Carrie the musical" off my bucket list, I could have used a real belter as Margaret (Carolee Carmello) or at least a real crazy person (Alice Ripley). Some spandex body suits, and some Debbie Allen body roll Choreo. Ah well..

[ChiChi]

Bravo! Just12bars

[FindingNamo]

Speakeasy Stage in Boston, discussed at length in the above-linked Times article as coveting "Carrie" for next season has just announced their shows for 2012/2013. "Carrie" is not among them.

I have to confess, I imagine the creators being so frightened to authorize any productions unless they are replicas of the "we finally got it right" version, that the show will end up never being produced.


instead, it's BBAJ and ITH, as the kids abbreviate them