She's Back! CARRIE - First preview !!! - Page 4

[Famebroadway2]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:24pm

EVe was weak I'd def In the show! Don't worry

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:25pm

I was there tonight. A completely safe, colorless, inexciting take on the material. If the original CARRIE was shocking in its audacity, this revival is mind numbing in its conventionality. Molly Ranson is a real find and was the Carrie we've all hoped for- at equal turns pitiful and luminous. Mazzie sings well but is directed to play it totally safe and never thrills like her predecessors in the role. The prom sequence is down right silly and yes-- if you have no blood drop, in my opinion you have no show.

I'd never thought Id say it, but bring back Debbie Allen-- who went for broke and took chances -- at least her Carrie was never boring.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:26pm

Oh, kids. I am sooooooooo sorry. I was there on the night of the first preview 24 years ago and I can assure you, you're just going through the inevitable. Of course you were rooting for Carrie to be good. We were back then, too.

I've been telling you since the idea of this revival came up and the RENT guys did the first reading and decided to pass: Carrie will never work onstage. I'm sorry you got your hopes up. Even though I told you, I get no joy from this development.

It's sad, but not surprising, to hear that the orchestrations have been changed for the Carrie and Margaret numbers, because THAT was the one thing everybody agreed upon was great about the original incarnation. So of course they would muck it up.

As for the reports in this thread from intermission and all that, we were saying the same thing 24 years ago. "They're REALLY working hard!" "They're TRYING, you know, and the only failure would be not to try at all, RIGHT?" "There's only the small matter of these dozen things that pop immediately to mind without much thought that will need to be fixed before opening! It's so clear, so they'll probably just do it!" "Aren't Betty and Linzi FANTASTIC, though? All they need to do is make the rest of the show as good as their scenes!"

I will admit that I made my then boyfriend hang out at the stage door because I was dying to meet Betty Buckley. We waited forever. I mean, theater lights were shut off and everything. Eventually, Linzi Hately came out, and I told her how great I thought she and Betty had been (because that was literally all there was to it.) And then these two other queens stepped up to get their Playbills signed. Linzi was looking a little glum. Possibly because there was uncontrollable laughter when she slithered down the white stairway to heaven in the final scene, trailing red slime like some demonic slug. "Welllllll," said queen #1, trying to come up with something positive, "Keep working on it!" She nodded. Then, thankfully, queen #2 said the perfect exit line for all of us: "There's never been a musical like you!" That was true, too.

Not surprisingly, Betty never came out.

[hyperbole_and_a_half]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:27pm

I happen to agree with you folks :) Part of the horror of Carrie is feeling the indignity of prom night right alongside her, and then watching with dread as it quickly erupts into something physical, deadly and uncontrollable. It doesn't really matter how carefully crafted the rest of the show is, because if that moment doesn't ignite the stage, the rest of the show dies in vain. That's why I hope that this particular staging of the finale is the way it is for conceptual (i.e. artistic vision) rather than stagecraft (i.e. drycleaning bills) reasons, and that if the staging of the finale is letting the rest of the show down, it's re-evaluated tout de suite.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:32pm

I was there tonight and have lots of thoughts.

Let me start with a positive one: Molly Ranson is a fantastic Carrie. She is a magnetic presence and nailed the acting and singing. She is the find in this revival.

Marin sings the material well, but they really need to let her go for broke in this role. I completely blame the director/creative team and not Marin for this. I think the overall tone of creating this revival was let's take out anything that the audience will remotely find campy and squash it. Mrs. White SHOULD be over the top!

Everything campy and audacious about the original is completely gone. The rest of the kids are now so boring and the creative team is trying very hard to make them feel like the ensemble of Spring Awakening. The choreography, orchestrations, and general vibe of these scenes are like "Totally F**cked."

As mentioned, there's NO BLOOD!!!!! You must have the blood drop. If anyone's reading this from the creative team find a way to drop the blood. Do it now.

There is almost no mention of the telekinesis. I knew that this wouldn't have big budget special effects, but the main character has special powers. You need to be able to show them.

If you hadn't read the book or the seen the movie you probably would have no clue what was going on. In their effort to annihilate all campy moments they barely mention that they stuff they are going to dump on her is pig's blood. I would have guessed it was red paint if I didn't know better. Also I wouldn't really understand what was happening in the destruction. It's not that clear without prior knowledge.

There were several comments I heard after about the small number of people at the prom. I get that it's a small off-Broadway cast, but the prom is a little silly when done with so few people. Carrie and Tommy are shocked they are on the ballot, but of course they are! There are 6 people at the prom!

I don't know if the device of Sue telling the story worked that well. The concept was a little half-hearted. Also, how would Sue know about the scenes that happened between Carrie and her mother?

The set is the burnt gym. It is very Doyle Sweeney Todd, but without developing concept beyond that.

Overall it's competent and VERY safe. A wonderful leading performance in a now bland show. The original, for all it's faults, was NEVER boring and took huge risks. It was jaw-dropping. This is anything but. Three weeks from now when all the fans have seen it and it's just MCC subscribers I wonder if they'll see and think, "why does everyone make such a big deal about this show?"

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:35pm

I have to say i am looking forward to reading reviews from people who have not seen the original Carrie. It will be good to see what those people have to say, not to say i don't appreciate you wonderful folks already who have given your reviews because i do.

[blaxx]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:35pm

Carrie and Tommy are shocked they are on the ballot, but of course they are! There are 6 people at the prom!

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:36pm

People complained during the original production that Carrie's power was never sufficiently shown. It's even less established here- and when it is shown its done half the time with PROJECTIONS- yes a gobo of shutters slamming. So much for the magic of theatre...

At the very least, the creative team needs to realize that for most of the orchestra, heads block a view of the stage floor-- at least one ofthe levitation effects was completely missed by most of the house- ditto the absurd writhing on the floor by the cast during the prom sequence.

Updated On: 1/31/12 at 10:36 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:37pm

I do believe it is possible to make Margaret White a monster mother without the possibility of camp. However, probably not in Carrie The Musical.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:38pm

Blaxx i loved that comment as well.

I also have to say i must be the only Carrie fan who is thrilled the campy stuff is gone from the sounds of it. Yes the original took risks (i guess) but they did not work, none of them, it missed the point by a mile. The story of Carrie is about a young girl who is going through hell at home and high school, i don't really want to see campy when it comes to that subject matter.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:38pm

Sadly, I wasn't there tonight but a great friend of mine was. He texted me in act two saying he was bored out of his skull and he's a huge CARRIE fan.

I still can't wait to see it.

[ZiggyCringe]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:40pm

Some thoughts... (many spoilers)

The new opening "IN", same number different tempo and lyric. It worked.

I liked the whole new Sue interrogation stuff. It made sense, and made her more of a character.

The cutting down of the title song made complete sense, and the staging worked.

I liked the gym teacher. I really thought that by taking most of her songs and turning them into scenes (even though she had a terrific voice) was effectual, and told the story.

Marin's "Eve was Weak" was odd, and I was concerned until I saw the rest of the show. She really plays Margret White with an arc, and starts low key, and finishes AMAZING.

"The World According to Chris" didn't work at all. I don't understand the casting of Jeanna De Waal. She's terrible, from start to finish. It's really important that the teenagers in this show, especially with the new re-writes, come across as real. She was a silly musical comedy third-grader trying to act. Her co-hort, Derek Klena was as bad (although to his credit, most of his part was cut, and she screamed her vocals so loudly you couldn't hear a word of what he said).

On the flip side, Carmen Cusack, as the gym teacher, was TERRIFIC. She's the polar opposite of Darlene Love, and she made "Unsuspecting Hearts," a song I've always found ridiculous, work.

Molly Ranson was sensational. She sounded, strangely enough, like Linzy Hatley, but her acting was far, far, far superior. I understood Carrie White's journey.

The book changes are great as well. The scene with Margret, the gym teacher and the principal was a terrific addition.

Act two was a different story. It's nearly entirely new. I think the new music is better.

The prom scene goes on too long, and (as in the original) I miss the individual characters getting their cummupance. Chris needs to get smashed down to make the story palatable. As far as the staging, I think they did the best they can (considering the space), but the show still loses the characters at the end.

It's my favorite musical, and it's so, so close to being terrific. This was first preview, so I can't wait to go back in a month.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:45pm

Distressing, this lack of imagination. Yes, the original took so many chances, but the failures, infamous and even laughable as they are, were also examples of honest-to-God theatrical daring. Terry Hines had a particular take on the material. It was wrong, but it was strong and scarily specific. Without that, you have no real show. It's not about budget, it's about staying committed. I'm hoping they dare to stop worrying about camp and just go for it. I saw the original 3 times, and never ceased to be in awe of its, well, audacity. Without that audacity, you probably don't have CARRIE.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:45pm

I don't think anybody was arguing the camp should be back in, I think they're saying the desire to avoid the possibility of camp means they took out some essential elements if your goal is to, you know, tell the story of Carrie White.

[bobbybaby85]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:50pm

Updated On: 2/19/18 at 10:50 PM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:51pm

If anything they should go back and look at the genius job Brian dePalma did at balancing the tone of the film which balances humour with something this production never is: scary and unnerving

And I agree that Margaret has to be a larger than life character or it doesn't work- Piper Laurie found just the right creepy zealous vibe in the movie.

Mazzie's characterization is so down to earth and level headed that when she hands the teachers some religious pamphlets, you half expect them to give in and take her up on it.

In my opinion trying to somehow convince the audience the Margaret is just a "concerned mother with deep conviction" is way less effective, and surea lot less fun than having her be a little outrageous.

Everyone involved this time is obviously being way too careful-- they need to lighten up and stop being so scared of the dreaded "C (amp) " word

Updated On: 1/31/12 at 10:51 PM

[blaxx]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:51pm

Having all the camp taken out was feared by many here.

"How do you fix the problems of the original? Easy! Do the exact opposite!"

It really isn't that simple. Too bad.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:52pm

'Terry Hines had a particular take on the material. It was wrong, but it was strong and scarily specific. Without that, you have no real show'

Terry Hands had a very specific idea yes, however that was not what ended up on the stage, his and Debbie Allens version of Carrie ended up on stage and had a fight with each other right up until the bloody end. That was not one vison on the stage in 88, please don't think it was.

I'm also pretty sure Stafford and the team have a specific idea for this version, some will like it, some will not (as we have seen on here, though to be fair nobody has said its a bad show, some have said good, some have said safe)

[leefowler]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:54pm

I'm seeing this tomorrow...

But it sounds like everybody would have preferred a repeat of the original version, grandiose and disastrous though it might have been, than a "fixed" version.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:55pm

'In my opinion trying to somehow convince the audience the Margaret is just a "concerned mother with deep conviction" is way less effective, and surea lot less fun than having her be a little outrageous'

I agre with that, for the sake of theatre i think she needs to be more on the edge, but also to be real and to love her daughter, it's a balancing act.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:56pm

I'm gobsmacked that people are raving about how the original was "daring" in comparison.

Sounds like yesterday's explosive diarrhea is todays dry pebble turd.

[blaxx]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 10:58pm

I'm also pretty sure Stafford and the team have a specific idea for this version, some will like it, some will not (as we have seen on here, though to be fair nobody has said its a bad show, some have said good, some have said safe)

Which is exactly what Carrie never needed - a passive mixed reaction. If there's something this show isn't, is a "meh" kind of show.

I read different opinions, but none with passion. Which is really sad. As bobby said, if this flops miserably, it might be the end of Carrie for a long time, if not for good.

It would be even more tragic if it fails out of indifference.

[Idiot]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 11:00pm

Here's what I'm beginning to think: the creatives may be too scared of the material they're dealing with to let it be what it is.

CARRIE is not HAMLET. It's a horror story with a tragic lead that you actually care about. If they don't want to do a story about a telekinetic teenager, just keep reviving GREASE.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 11:01pm

I didn't get to see the original Carrie live, I would ask why so many of us are obsessed with listening to audios and watching bootleg videos of the original production. It's the audacity of the production. The high camp is a lot of fun, but the whole thing is just so completely unbelievable you can't turn away. It's engrossing and, for me, completely incredible.

I agree with Jordan's friend- this was safe and boring.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 1/31/12 at 11:01pm

I agree if it fails this time it will be the end of Carrie for New York but i think the team will release the rights this time.

I have to say just from the brief clips on here that IN thrilled me and i LOVE the set design. I'm in to shows on a smaller scale though (taht's my job) so that could just be me.