Barbara Cook- Carrie Incident?- Page 2

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 11:34am

"Always"? Always when?

Posted: 8/30/12 at 11:44am

I think that even if it were visible the video is so far back and grainy that it would be hard to see. I've only ever read about the accident.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 11:47am

So many new members. Welcome, I'mSTILLhere.

2.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 12:37pm

So much impolite discourse on age, my goodness! Methinks the fancy tales of Miss Barbara Cook's near decapitation at ye olde theater in Stratford are apocryphal. Most sincerely yours, Auggie27, esq.

[Broadwayhunk]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 12:46pm

Whatever the reason, she made a wise decision to flee this mess.

[Triple Threat Kid]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 12:47pm

^^^Agreed! Tvat had to be an awful experience mid-show!

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 12:49pm

Methinks the fancy tales of Miss Barbara Cook's near decapitation at ye olde theater in Stratford are apocryphal.

Me too!

[It's a fine life!]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 12:54pm

Has she ever discussed an accident as part of the show?

[TrulyOutrageousJem]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 2:05pm

Actually you're a bit mistaken. Barbara WAS almost decapitated, yes. But not by the staircase. For the final scene when the staircase came down she rode up in an elevator to the top and when it was lowered completely she stepped out onto it and down the stairs. The accident happened when the White Home set piece came forward before Open Your Heart. The back wall lifted, and flipped to show the "wood" on the other side and, as it did this, the "floor" of the home slid forward. Barbara stepped out onto the floor too early and almost lost her head as the wall was flipping and a stage hand pulled her back in time. As for the grunting on the video, that could be anything. Someone dying at the prom, Linzi crying, someone in the audience. Who knows.

[Triple Threat Kid]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 2:08pm

Oh wow. I did have it wrong. Thanks for that. Another question, what was the white staircase supposed to be? It can't be heaven like my friends think! She is not dead yet!

Updated On: 8/30/12 at 02:08 PM

[TrulyOutrageousJem]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 2:22pm

Who knows.... You'd have to ask terry Hands about that one. I know some of the people that were in the show and even they don't know. The legend goes that Terry was in a production meeting before the show began and a woman in the meeting said something like "Wow, with all the high school stuff it's very Grease." And he took that as meaning Greece, like Greek Tragedy. And he came back to the next meeting with all these designs of togas and symbolism and sparse staging. The staircase could therefore be anything ... steps of the school, steps to hell, steps to heaven. It's a really cool set piece and a neat effect but totally pointless and stupid in this show.

Another rumor about Carrie, for years thanks to Ken Mandlebaum and his totally unresearched book, was that in the Destruction a giant shower curtain fell on the kids. No. What DID happen was that a giant scrim came down to make the lasers show more and to stop the pyro from going unwatanted places. A bad idea, yes, because it was a bit unnecessary, but certainly not a shower curtain.

[Triple Threat Kid]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 2:33pm

I actully just ordered that book! I could understand the scrim for protection, but those steps just boggle me. It was a nice design but as you said, not right for the show.

[It's a fine life!]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 4:19pm

I have always wanted to read that book. In fact, when I was fifteen a friend of my sister had it and I read that chapter. I didn't know enough about the show at that time. But 17 years later I think I will buy it.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 6:24pm

Always wondered about that scrim. Having seen the original three times, and the revival, I am still dumbstruck that none of the technical discussions tried to solve the blood-dumping. To this day, I recall how ludicrous it looked with the blood was thrown at Carrie rather than dropped. The revival solved it rather stunningly, only making the avoidance of a solution in the original that much more preposterous.

In every play there is an "obligatory scene," from the French "scene a faire," i.e. "that which must be done." The scene every story is built around reaching to satisfy the set-up audience expectation. In CARRIE, it's that damned bucket of blood being turned upside down and spilled on the prom queen. It's obligatory, set up early on, talked about, sung about, and as images go iconic. And Hands simply skipped that important detail. In a way, it says everything about what went wrong.

Updated On: 8/30/12 at 06:24 PM

[CalebMeyer]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 7:00pm

I used to think that when people referred to "that site" they were talking about a secret website filled with rare performances, and bootlegs, and that only the real insiders knew what it was/had access to it. Talk about misconceptions...childhood or otherwise.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 8:00pm

"The revival solved it rather stunningly, only making the avoidance of a solution in the original that much more preposterous."

I don't think either production solved the issue of the bucket of blood. The original had blood that was delivered in a pretty ridiculous way. The revival had a projection and a red spotlight.

[Broadwayhunk]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 9:55pm

Carrie without a bucket of blood is like Oz without the wizard.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/31/12 at 12:39am

OMG this thread is the most hilarious thing..especially after smoking a joint and downing half a bottle of pinot grigot....

[TrulyOutrageousJem]

Posted: 8/31/12 at 2:54pm

Triple Threat Kid - It's a pretty good read and I have read it a few times. But just like anything else, you have to take into account that a lot of it is his opinion and not necessarily based in much research. For example, he never reached out to anyone involved in CARRIE to get any facts on the show. He just wrote what he heard and remembered. But still a good read.

Auggie27 - Sally Anne Triplett, Sue in the 1988 cast, said in an interview that when it came time to discuss dumping the blood on Carrie that Terry was completely without a clue as to how to do it. Linzi Hately, as Carrie & 17 years old, said to him "Just dump a bucket of blood on me." He wouldn't/couldn't figure it out. So at first they tried red lights, but that just looked like she was standing in a red spotlight (funny that that's what they chose for the revival). Then they tried putting a bucket on her head with two sponges on the inside soaked in red dye and when Billy put it on her she was supposed to grab the bucket and press it to her face. But that looked like she was just wearing a lot of blush. All the while Linzi is still saying "Just dump a bucket of blood on me." Finally they had Billy run up and plunk the bucket on her head. Which, I think actually looked pretty good. I like the revival a lot and thought the use of projections was great but I still missed the actual blood at the prom. When you think about it tho, there really is no way to secure a bucket full of liquid falling in the same spot every performance. And it'd be unsafe if splashed everywhere. I think running up and plunking the bucket on her head is really the only good choice.