#301
Posted: 12/1/09 at 7:06pm
Wow. That's all I can say to this thread. I haven't posted in a few pages, so this is new for me to be posting. Regarding the new material and everything:
First off, I LOVE the new changes. LOVE THEM. I do miss Heaven (Octet) and I'm Not Alone, but I'll live. I especially love Carrie's bed lifting. That was really was one of the core things that the show was missing: EXPLAINING CARRIE'S POWERS. They spent way too much time trying to bring to life simple characters like Tommy, Sue, Chris and Billy then they did on trying to bring out Carrie's powers.
I hope they don't make that mistake. I hope they're working on making Carrie's powers really clear. As for the dark/light thing--it's been said once, it's been said many times: CARRIE IS NOT A HORROR STORY FOLKS. I think a lot of people forget that. It was Stephen King's first novel. That was Stephen King's first break-through of trying to create a dramatic story, but instead found that horror was really more suited.
But that's what's so BRILLIANT about the story. It's this cross combination between teenage bullhonkey (hehe. Like my censorship?) and this girl's horrible, horrible life. And the telekentic powers are symbolic of that. They are something that can be used for good, for bad, or really for nothing. So it's almost the connection between the dark and the light. You see what I mean? And they also reflect her happiness and her saddness and her anger. The telekensis is really just a raw extension of Carrie's emotions.
But of course, I think MB, and what other people are forgetting are: Since when has a musical not had at least ONE campy moment? When you think about it, (I know I'll be killed for this. I know, I know I will) but it's almost *note I say almost* like '13' but with the volume turned all the way up (ignoring the whole Bar Mitzfah and being the New Kid thing). And because it's partially dealing with really stupid teenage issues, it, by default makes it camp. The only time when it doesn't seem as campy, truthfully, is on page. No doubt about it. But even then: is it really THAT campy? I think the new 'In' sounds fantastic. Having it start off right smack in the middle of a volleyball game was a stupid/awful idea. The more we allow ourselves to see how human these kids are, that they're just trying to get by, that it's survival of the fittest, because, speaking AS a teenager here--that's how it is. I literally cried the other day for teachers b-rating me like crazy, which I'm sure a lot of you are smirking thinking, "Wow. Wait till he gets to college." Yeah. I know. I'm seventeen. Think I haven't heard it? But I'd say a majority of my problems don't come from teen angst/high school anxiety.
I also hope they are casting kids from around sixteen to twenty. That was a MAJOR fault with the old Carrie. How can we believe these kids on stage, if we know off the stage, they're well out of college and these problems are hardly relatable? And it shows. The acting feels more fake. That's why I was so worried about Digarmo... but hopefully she'll do me justice. Diamonio (...I'll never be able to spell that...) and Ranson are the perfect age, I think, so that way (hopefully) by the time it comes to Broadway they'll still be age-perfect.
I'm really glad they added nothing for Margaret. Although, if they had kept the Octet in, I would've loved to use the Stratford Version, with Margaret singing as well.
Also--what you guys forget, is I have DIRECTED Carrie on stage before. I have done it as a non-spoof drama. Granted, it wasn't public, but I still put all my sweat and blood (tee-hee) into it. I used a Narrations (the Narrator was a male, who in the end, was implied to be her father), and I used most of the interviewees (Sir Officer Otis Doyle, Estelle Horan. I also used Jackie Talbot's monologue but changed it to suit Tina Blake, both of whom came with Chris and Billy to kill the pigs), and 95% of the dialogue was from the book. The only thing I didn't include was Sue being an interviewee as well, because I wanted the story to flow like the book did: it was in the past, intertwined with current interviews regarding the subject. And it's good that's what they're doing. I made Norma a geek like they did in the 2002 film version as well. I'm going to put up our Prom Scene soon on the Tube.
I am sorry to say, but I think there are some things that just won't get the salvation it literally deserves. The fact that it is Carrie, as a musical, is just such a mind-boggling concept, and the fact that really it doesn't HAVE an audience, unless they are marketing it to teens, is only gonna hurt them more. And also, whoever made the Legally Blonde comment: In some sense or another, don't we, as fans, want it to be the next Legally Blonde? I as well was thought to be crazy for thinking Carrie could work, but I personally have made it work, and now Broadway is. Part of me is saying that they should just have hired new writers completely and just done a seperate version (a la the Wild Party. Although, that was purely coicidental, but I think you get my point: two ridiculously different versions). But to be honest, Carrie has been spoofed so many times, that a parody (a la Xanadu) would be redundant and wouldn't flow well. Parodies of Carrie have done just dandy Off-Broadway, but on Broadway, it would have to be completely stellar and original.
If Carrie was all dark, then it wouldn't be Carrie. The movie had some light stuff, so did the book. And plus, we can't make accurate assumptions really, because no one except Dantes and Faires has SEEN the reading, and plus, it's a reading. The VERY first stage. They'll continue work through the workshops, then the pre-Broadway previews, then pre-Broadway, then Broadway previews. We've still got at least four more rounds (depending if they want to do more readings or workshops). So let's just hang tight, and MB--you have to admit, for the MOST part, they're going in the right direction.
Off my pedestal now,
Sean
First off, I LOVE the new changes. LOVE THEM. I do miss Heaven (Octet) and I'm Not Alone, but I'll live. I especially love Carrie's bed lifting. That was really was one of the core things that the show was missing: EXPLAINING CARRIE'S POWERS. They spent way too much time trying to bring to life simple characters like Tommy, Sue, Chris and Billy then they did on trying to bring out Carrie's powers.
I hope they don't make that mistake. I hope they're working on making Carrie's powers really clear. As for the dark/light thing--it's been said once, it's been said many times: CARRIE IS NOT A HORROR STORY FOLKS. I think a lot of people forget that. It was Stephen King's first novel. That was Stephen King's first break-through of trying to create a dramatic story, but instead found that horror was really more suited.
But that's what's so BRILLIANT about the story. It's this cross combination between teenage bullhonkey (hehe. Like my censorship?) and this girl's horrible, horrible life. And the telekentic powers are symbolic of that. They are something that can be used for good, for bad, or really for nothing. So it's almost the connection between the dark and the light. You see what I mean? And they also reflect her happiness and her saddness and her anger. The telekensis is really just a raw extension of Carrie's emotions.
But of course, I think MB, and what other people are forgetting are: Since when has a musical not had at least ONE campy moment? When you think about it, (I know I'll be killed for this. I know, I know I will) but it's almost *note I say almost* like '13' but with the volume turned all the way up (ignoring the whole Bar Mitzfah and being the New Kid thing). And because it's partially dealing with really stupid teenage issues, it, by default makes it camp. The only time when it doesn't seem as campy, truthfully, is on page. No doubt about it. But even then: is it really THAT campy? I think the new 'In' sounds fantastic. Having it start off right smack in the middle of a volleyball game was a stupid/awful idea. The more we allow ourselves to see how human these kids are, that they're just trying to get by, that it's survival of the fittest, because, speaking AS a teenager here--that's how it is. I literally cried the other day for teachers b-rating me like crazy, which I'm sure a lot of you are smirking thinking, "Wow. Wait till he gets to college." Yeah. I know. I'm seventeen. Think I haven't heard it? But I'd say a majority of my problems don't come from teen angst/high school anxiety.
I also hope they are casting kids from around sixteen to twenty. That was a MAJOR fault with the old Carrie. How can we believe these kids on stage, if we know off the stage, they're well out of college and these problems are hardly relatable? And it shows. The acting feels more fake. That's why I was so worried about Digarmo... but hopefully she'll do me justice. Diamonio (...I'll never be able to spell that...) and Ranson are the perfect age, I think, so that way (hopefully) by the time it comes to Broadway they'll still be age-perfect.
I'm really glad they added nothing for Margaret. Although, if they had kept the Octet in, I would've loved to use the Stratford Version, with Margaret singing as well.
Also--what you guys forget, is I have DIRECTED Carrie on stage before. I have done it as a non-spoof drama. Granted, it wasn't public, but I still put all my sweat and blood (tee-hee) into it. I used a Narrations (the Narrator was a male, who in the end, was implied to be her father), and I used most of the interviewees (Sir Officer Otis Doyle, Estelle Horan. I also used Jackie Talbot's monologue but changed it to suit Tina Blake, both of whom came with Chris and Billy to kill the pigs), and 95% of the dialogue was from the book. The only thing I didn't include was Sue being an interviewee as well, because I wanted the story to flow like the book did: it was in the past, intertwined with current interviews regarding the subject. And it's good that's what they're doing. I made Norma a geek like they did in the 2002 film version as well. I'm going to put up our Prom Scene soon on the Tube.
I am sorry to say, but I think there are some things that just won't get the salvation it literally deserves. The fact that it is Carrie, as a musical, is just such a mind-boggling concept, and the fact that really it doesn't HAVE an audience, unless they are marketing it to teens, is only gonna hurt them more. And also, whoever made the Legally Blonde comment: In some sense or another, don't we, as fans, want it to be the next Legally Blonde? I as well was thought to be crazy for thinking Carrie could work, but I personally have made it work, and now Broadway is. Part of me is saying that they should just have hired new writers completely and just done a seperate version (a la the Wild Party. Although, that was purely coicidental, but I think you get my point: two ridiculously different versions). But to be honest, Carrie has been spoofed so many times, that a parody (a la Xanadu) would be redundant and wouldn't flow well. Parodies of Carrie have done just dandy Off-Broadway, but on Broadway, it would have to be completely stellar and original.
If Carrie was all dark, then it wouldn't be Carrie. The movie had some light stuff, so did the book. And plus, we can't make accurate assumptions really, because no one except Dantes and Faires has SEEN the reading, and plus, it's a reading. The VERY first stage. They'll continue work through the workshops, then the pre-Broadway previews, then pre-Broadway, then Broadway previews. We've still got at least four more rounds (depending if they want to do more readings or workshops). So let's just hang tight, and MB--you have to admit, for the MOST part, they're going in the right direction.
Off my pedestal now,
Sean
Recent Broadway and Off-Broadway:: Carrie, Merrily, Ionescopade
Next On The List :: Clybourne Park, Once, Streetcar, BOM
Next On The List :: Clybourne Park, Once, Streetcar, BOM
