Meh. I know people, mostly ex Spring Awakening fans, who were bonkers for it and even they thought this incarnation was weak. As for me, I'm over teen-centric shows.
I don't get why they let him mess with CARRIE. Wouldn't that be the perfect time to use a great established director? Maybe they all turned it down. Same with BARE. Why not get some cool up and coming director?
My suspicion is that the Carrie creators wanted someone who would do exactly what Arima did with the material, and even though reviews were lukewarm, there was enough buzz about him at least on the basis of being "the guy who revived Carrie" that he got Bare.
Arima didn't ruin Carrie. Carrie isn't even ruined- it's just different, and I suspect Arima was the pawn, not the queen, in that game.
I think the book and score for Carrie are far better now than they were before. The problem with that production was the awkward staging choices he made. It could have been great with just a few minor tweaks.
Arima needs to start working on good shows, it's become quite clear that he isn't the best at flipping flawed shows.
Arima is a crappy director, and crappy directors don't suddenly get better when handed good material. I don't think the man has a creative bone in his body.
Like others have said, the production was a waste of some really excellent young talent. And while the previous NYC incarnation wasn't perfect, it was certainly better than what made it on stage at NWS.
Arima is an awful director. I never understand how and why he gets works, let alone on shows that need actual work. I adore Lea Salonga, but considering her as Mother in Ragtime is a joke. Even in a concert version. The Asian-American wife of a racist white man? NO.
I actually felt myself growing angry at what he did to Bare. I loved the workshop production and have always said that the material has potential and needs the right hand to guide and shape it. The ONLY positive thing about this production was the fleshing out of the majority of the retained characters. 90% of the new material was an absolute disaster. Several actors turned in great work, despite Arima's best efforts to ruin them, while some were serviceable and one or two were just glaringly bad.
The production was almost a joke. Whoever thought 16 actors, 5 musicians, 2 stage managers plus crew in a space that size was viable for anything other than a mega-hit is an idiot. Arima applied the same, bland, heavy, disaster of a "concept" as he shoehorned onto Carrie - particularly with plot structure and scenic design - and sinks it from the moment the lights come up. I also can't for the life of me understand how Donyale Werle gets works as a designer. I fail to see ANYTHING salvageable in her body of work.
I CAN say, however, that the bright spots of the event are Barrett Wilbert Weed, Anthony Festa, Casey Garvin, Alex Wyse, Howell Binkley, Keith Caggiano and William Cusick. I also love Tristan Raines' work, but Arima really hampered him as a designer here and didn't clearly didn't allow him to give the show what it needs. Jason Hite was pleasant and I found Taylor Trensch (who was sidelined mid-show) to be a strong enough actor but I've never ever found his voice to be remotely pleasant.
All in all, a sad endeavor of missed opportunity spearheaded by hiring a medicine show conman as a director... and Travis Wall ever choreographs another theatre piece, I am fleeing in the opposite direction.
I have to say I agree with the sentiments voiced here about Stafford Arima. His production of "Bright Lights, Big City" at the Prince was well-cast and the material was ripe to be reimagined and given a fresh spin, but instead it was confusing minimalist and all the things that needed revision and tightening were left completely alone, and the parts of the show that worked were bizarrely changed for absolutely no reason.
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joined:5/3/03
Posted: 1/23/13 at 07:27pm